LIFE 


OF  THE  THIED  OEDEE  OF  ST.  FRANCIS. 


Drawo  from  the  Acts  of  her  Beatification,  and  other  reliable  Sources, 


FATHER   IGNATIUS  JEILER,  0.  S.  F. 
j   /)    J?  A    tf 

TRANSLATED  BY 


REV.  CLEMENT1NUS  DEYMANN,  O.  S.  F 


SANTA  BARBARA, 


NEW  YORK,  CINCINNATI,  AND  ST.  Louis: 

BENZIGER       BROTHERS, 

PRINTERS  TO  THE  HOLY  APOSTOLIC  SEE. 

R.  WASHBOURNE,  M.  H.  GILL  &  SON, 

18  PATERNOSTER  Ro\v,  LONDON.  50  UPPER  O'CONNEI.L  STREET,  DI-BLIN. 

1886. 


Paderborn,  March  8,  1874. 


CONRAD, 

Bishop  of  PiHlerltorn. 


Tmprimi  permittitur. 

FR.  GREGORIUS  JANKNECHT, 

Min.  Provinciali*. 

"Warendorpiensi  Ex  C!onv.ad  St.  P.  X. 
Francisci, 


COPVUIOHT,  1886,  BT  BENZIGER  BROTHERS. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

The  Venerable  Sister  Mary  Crescentia  Hoss,  of  the  Third 
Order  Regular  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  whose  biography  we 
now  propose  to  set  forth  in  a  faithful  and  complete  man- 
ner before  our  readers,  lived  in  an  age  when  the  higher 
classes  of  society  had  already  begun  to  fall  away  from  Chris- 
tian principles  and  morals,  and  had  thus  prepared  the  way 
for  the  minds  of  the  masses  to  adopt  those  destructive  ideas 
which  finally  culminated  in  a  revolution  that  shook  the 
whole  world.  The  Ven.  Sister  herself  saw,  in  a  prophetic 
light,  the  dark  clouds  gathering  on  the  spiritual  horizon, 
and  announced  in  plain  terms  the  storm  about  to  break 
forth  at  no  distant  period  against  convent-life,  and  religious 
institutions.  This,  in  point  of  fact,  began  about  thirty  years 
after  her  death,  and  in  a  comparatively  short  time  brought 
its  destructive  work  to  completion. 

Yet,  before  the  ancient  tree  of  religious  life  in  Germany 
was  finally  to  be  hewn  down,  it  was,  by  a  decree  of  Divine 
Providence,  to  produce  a  glorious  blossom,  by  means  of 
which  the  whole  beauty  and  exalted  character  of  the  clois- 
tral life  were  to  be  exhibited.  This  great  praise,  this  sub- 
lime encomium,  we  venture  to  confer  on  Sister  Mary  Cres- 
centia of  Kaufbeuren,  without  fearing  to  be  accused  of  ex- 
aggeration ;  nay,  in  our  own  humble  opinion,  we  may  ven- 
ture to  call  her  one  of  the  greatest  ornaments  of  our  own 
Church  (Germany),  and  challenge  comparison  for  her  with 
the  canonized  Saints  of  other  nations. 

To  promote  veneration  for  the  Ven.  M.  Crescentia  in  wi- 
der circles  than  those  in  which  she  has  hitherto  been  known 
is  the  first  object  of  this  book,  which  is  written  with  the 

3 


4  Author's  Preface. 

special  view  of  increasing  the  interest  necessary  for  the  re- 
sumption of  the  process  of  her  beatification.  To  this  end, 
also,  the  materials  have  been  selected  and  arranged.  Yet 
it  must  be  obvious  to  all  that  the  main  object  aimed  at  in  a 
biography  of  this  description,  is  to  increase  religious  in- 
struction and  devotion.  The  sources  whence  we  derive  our 
materials  are  ample.  The  life  of  this  servant  of  God 
presents,  indeed,  on  the  one  side,  a  series  of  extraordinary 
phenomena,  since  from  childhood  upwards,  nay,  from  her 
very  infancy,  she  was  called  to  modes  of  prayer  and  of  in- 
terior life,  which  are  vouchsafed  by  God  but  to  the  few, 
and  to  which  none  unbidden  may  dare  to  intrude  ;  yet 
this  expansion  of  soul,  which  is  not  suitable  for  all,  re- 
mained, in  her  case,  before  her  death,  as  also  after  it,  on 
the  whole,  a  hidden  fact,  a  secret  to  the  world. 

Her  superiors  had  indeed  taken  measures  to  commit  to 
writing  the  account  of  her  extraordinary  states,  her  visions 
and  revelations  for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  but  their  efforts 
to  produce  the  effects  they  desired  were  frustrated,  as  will 
be  seen  in  the  subsequent  history.  The  Lord,  however, 
has  so  ordered  it  that  we  possess  exact  and  appropriate 
information  of  the  virtues  and  exercises  by  the  practice  of 
which,  as  a  child,  as  a  young  maiden,  and  as  a  religious,  she 
became  a  mirror  of  perfection  and  a  complete  model  for 
imitation. 

Following  these  indications  of  Divine  Providence,  we 
have  carefully  selected  the  characteristics  of  her  life,  and 
those  expressions  to  which  she  gave  utterance  which  bear 
upon  the  pious  practices  of  her  genuine  life,  whether  in- 
teriorly or  exteriorly.  We  even  venture  to  say  that  that 
which  she  taught  by  word  and  deed  is  a  sufficient  and  safe 
guide  to  the  interior  life.  Only  the  smallest  portion  of  this 
refers  exclusively  to  religious  Orders ;  consequently,  good 
Christians  living  in  the  world  may  find  instruction  and  ed- 
ification in  the  words  and  example  of  this  consecrated  vir- 
gin. Every  one,  who  by  baptism  is  incorporated  with 
Christ,  should  live  an  interior,  supernatural  life,  proceeding 


Authors  Preface.  5 

from  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Head,  and  not  resulting 
from  the  exercise  of  our  natural  faculties. 

In  order  to  comply  with  the  well-known  decree  of  Pope 
Urban  VIII. ,  we  state  that  the  Church  has  conferred  on 
Crescentia  the  title  of  "  Venerable  "  (Venerabilis),  declar- 
ing that  she  practised  all  virtues  in  an  heroic  degree.  Should 
we,  in  the  course  of  this  narrative,  attribute  to  her  any 
other  appellation,  we  hereby  declare  such  other  titles  and 
appellations  shall  have  no  other  meaning  or  certainty  than 
such  as  appertains  to  mere  human  assertions. 

May  this  narrative  conduce  to  the  honor  of  the  Most  Ho- 
ly Trinity,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  from 
whom  proceedeth  " every  good  and  perfect  gift;"  may  it 
increase  the  veneration  felt  for  the  amiable  and  venerable 
spouse  of  Christ  and  contribute  to  the  edification  of  the 
reader. 

THE  AUTHOE. 
PADERBORN,  Feb.  14,  1874. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 

The  translator  fully  endorses  the  sentiments  of  the 
learned  and  Eeverend  author  ;  and  wishes  that  Ven.  Sister 
Mary  Crescentia  Hoss  may  be  accepted  as  a  model  to  all 
religious,  but  especially  to  the  Kegular  Tertiaries  of  St. 
Francis  ;  also,,  that  she  may  become  a  model  of  every  virtue 
to  all  Christians  : 

The  translator  considers  himself  happy  in  having  an 
opportunity  to  acknowledge  his  indebtedness  to  Mrs.  M.  A. 
Stace,  a  well-known  authoress  in  American  literature,  who 
has,  most  willingly,  undertaken  to  revise  and  prepare  the 
manuscript  for  the  press. 

May  God  in  His  goodness  fully  reward  this  zealous  con- 
vert for  all  she  has  done  for  the  good  of  religion  and  the 
Order  of  St.  Francis,  of  which  she  has  been  a  fervent  Ter- 
tiary for  many  years. 

THE  TRANSLATOR. 

Feast  of  St.  John  Baptist, 
CHILLICOTHE,  Mo.,  1885. 


CONTENTS, 

PAGE 
Author's  Preface,  .  .  .  .  .  .3 

Translator's  Preface,      .  .  .  .  .  .6 

FIRST  BOOK.  —  The  Life  of  Yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

CHAPTER 

I.  The  Family  Record. — Birth  of  Crescentia,  .  .       9 

II.  The  Child  of  Grace,         .            .            .  .  .14 

III.  Crescentia  a  Model  for  Young  Women,  .  ,     23 

IV.  The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff,           .            .  .  .29 
V.  The  Year  of  Probation,                .            .  .  .40 

VI.  The  Lion's  Den,  .  ,  .  .  .53 

VII.  The  Redemption,  .  .  .  -.  .64 

VIII.  Her  Religious  Life,  .  .  .  .  .71 

SECOKD  BOOK. — Picture  of  Her  Virtues. 

I.  Faith,  the  Root  of  her  Life,        .  .  .  .86 

II.  Hope,  her  Strength,         .  .  .  .  .104 

III.  Love  without  Reservation,  .  .  .  .116 

IV.  The  Blessed  Sacrament  her  Heaven  on  Earth,  .  135 
V.  The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ  the  Subject  of  her  Con- 
stant Meditation,                   .             .            .  .150 

VI.  The  Holy  Ghost  the  Sweet  Guest  of  her  Soul,  .  160 

VII.  Her  Fervor  in  Honoring  the  Mother  of  God,  the  Angels, 

and  the  Saints,          .  .  .  .  .168 

VIII.  The   Great   Gift  of  Prayer  and   Contemplation  which 

God  Bestowed  on  Ven.  M.  Crescentia,         .  .183 

IX.  How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ  in  Every  One,      .  .196 

X.  On  the  Love  and  Assistance  Conferred  by  Crescentia, 

on  the  Suffering  Souls  in  Purgatory,  .  .211 

XI.  Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross,  .  219 


8  Contents. 

CHAPTKR  I 

XII.  Crescentia  Crucified  with  Christ   by   Severe  Penances 

and  Mortifications,  ....  '<fl| 

XIII.  How  the  Humble  Servant  of  God  takes  the  Last  Place.  %4BS 

XIV.  IIo\v   perfectly  Crescentia  Practised  the  Obedience  of 

Faith,  L 

XV.  Crescentia  an  Angel  in  the  Flesh,  .  1 

XVI.  How  truly  Crescentia  Loved  Poverty, 

THIRD  BOOK.— Crescenticfs  W<rrk  far   Others. — Her  Deal, •'.''    \ 

and  the  Veneration  Paid  Her. 

I.  Crescentia  as  Mistress  of  Novices,  .  .  .  'J  ft 

II.  Crescentia  as  Mother  Superior,  .  .  .   o;u 

III.  How  much   and  how  successfully  Crescentia  Labored 

in  and  outside  of  the  Community,  .  .    .'*9 

IV.  How    Cresceutia   was   Endowed   with    the   Spirit    of 

Prophecy  and  the  Gift  of  Curing  the  Sick,  . 

V.  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death  of  Ven.  Crescentia,         ni 
VI.  Remarkable  Occurrences  after  the  Death  of  Ven.  Cres- 
centia.— Her  Death,  ....   ".'23 

VII.  Surprising  Spread  of  the  Veneration  Paid  to   her. — Pil- 
grimages to  her  Grave. — Conversion  of  many   Sin- 
ners, ......  !>2l 

VIII.  Selection  of  Miracles,       .....  :'.:5S 

IX.  Process  of  her  Beatification.— Opening  of  the  Grave,       351 

APPENDIX. 

Decretum  Augustanae  in  matters  referring  to  the  Beatification 
and  Canonization  of  the  Venerable  Servant  of  God, 
Sister  M.  Crescentia  Hoss,  .  .  .  .353 


Birth  of  Crescentia.  i  j 

customed  to  carry  very  bitter  pills  about  him,  to  chew  be- 
fore and  at  his  meals,  to  subdue  any  sensual  pleasure  which 
he  might  feel  and  which  he  dreaded  might  arise,  even  from 
his  scanty  fare.1 

Poor  as  he  was  himself,  he  never  refused  an  alms  to  a 
needy  person  who  begged  of  him  ;  or  if  he  had  no  means  of 
affording  substantial  relief,  he  never  failed  to  say  some  con- 
soling and  sympathizing  words,  adding  a  promise  to  help  as 
soon  as  he  should  be  able.  The  words  of  the  Wise  Man  * 
seem  to  have  been  fulfilled  in  regard  to  this  truly  devout 
man:  "A  good  wife  is  a  good  portion;  she  shall  be  given  in 
the  portion  of  them  that  fear  God,  to  a  man  for  his  good 
deeds."  His  wife  was,  in  very  fact,  truly  ennobled  by  her 
Christian  virtues.  Her  name  was  Lucy  Hermann;  she  was 
the  daughter  of  a  barber  and  surgeon  of  Fiissen,  a  neighbor- 
ing town  on  the  borders  of  the  Tyrol.  She  was  specially 
remarkable  for  the  love  she  manifested  towards  the  sick 
poor,  whom  she  was  ever  ready  to  tend  gratuitously  day  and 
night,  with  the  zeal,  tenderness,  and  skill  worthy  of  a  Sister 
of  Mercy.  As  she  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of  surgery 
from  her  father,  the  poor  people  from  the  whole  town  had 
•ecourse  to  this  most  charitable  neighbor,  when  they  want- 
ed to  have  their  sores  dressed,  their  wounds  healed,  or  even 
their  broken  limbs  set. 

God  blessed  their  union  with  eight  children,  three  of 
whom  were  boys.3  Two  boys  and  two  girls  died  while  yet 
very  young;  the  third  son,  who  was  named  Joseph,  lost  his 
life  by  an  untoward  accident  when  nearly  grown  up  :  a 
heedless  boy  gave  him  a  push  by  which  he  fell  into  a  cellar, 
and  was  so  seriously  injured  that  he  died  shortly  after.  The 
good,  pious  boy  sincerely  pardoned  the  youth  who  had 
caused  his  death,  and  departed  this  life  entirely  resigned 
to  the  will  of  God. 

Thus  three  daughters  only  remained  to  survive  their 
parents:  of  these  one  was  older  than  our  Crescentia,  the 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Object,  no.  15,  §  2  et  3. 

1  Ecclesiasticus  xxvi,  3.  3  Otto,  Book  I.,  ch.  1. 


1 2          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

other  younger.  Mary,  the  eldest  sister  (born  April  19, 
1679),  experienced  an  early  vocation  to  the  religious  life, 
and  having  surmounted  all  obstacles,  which  were  such  as 
arose  chiefly  from  poverty,  she  was  received  by  the  Sisters 
of  St.  Francis  at  St.  Joseph's  convent  at  Hagenau,  Alsace, 
far  away  from  her  native  town.  Here,  under  the  name  in 
religion  of  Mary  Angelina,  she  led  a  very  edifying  life  and 
died  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three. 

Regina,  the  youngest  of  the  sisters  (born  in  1697),  also 
proved  faithful  to  the  good  education  she  had  received 
from  her  pious  parents.  She  married  a  poor  but  honest 
citizen  of  Kaufbeuren,  named  Joseph  Heinritz,  who  carried 
on  the  same  trade  as  her  father.  Sixteen  children  sprang 
from  this  marriage,  five  of  whom  entered  different  orders 
in  religion.  One  of  them,  who  became  a  member  of  the 
Congregation  of  the  Knights  of  the  Cross  at  Memmingen, 
so  distinguished  himself  that  he  attained  to  the  dignity  of 
a  prelate.  But  the  mother  of  so  many  children  had  neces- 
sarily many  and  severe  hardships  to  endure.  She  became 
a  widow  while  her  children  were  as  yet  unprovided  for  ; 
to  which  may  be  added  that  constant  sickness  and  severe 
pain  hindered  her  from  continuing  her  husband's  trade  ; 
she  consequently  fell  into  the  greatest  distress.  The  sanc- 
tity of  her  sister  then  came  to  her  assistance.  Several 
persons  of  high  rank,  both  gentlemen  and  ladies  who  had 
a  special  veneration  for  the  revered  Crescentia,  and  among 
these  the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  nSe  Princess  of  Lichtenstein, 
came  to  the  succor  of  the  distressed  widow  and  provided 
for  the  education  of  her  children.  She  herself  edified 
every  one  by  the  heroic  patience  with  which  she  bore  all 
these  trials  :  and  thus  purified  in  the  furnace  of  suffering, 
she  slept  in  the  Lord  in  1758,  aged  seventy-one  years. 

These  two  sisters  have  both  left  to  posterity  written 
reminiscences  of  the  Ven.  Sister  M.  Crescentia,  reminis- 
cences which  they  had  retained  from  childhood  of  her  life 
and  virtues  ;  these  valuable  documents  are  still  preserved 
among  the  archives  of  the  convi-nt  <_>('  Kaufbeuren.  Tht- 


Birth  of  Cre scent ia.  1 3 

one  written  by  the  eldest  sister  is  dated  May  26,  1748  ;  the 
other  is  of  July  11,  of  the  same  year. 

Both  of  these  sisters  were  far  surpassed  in  grace  and 
virtue  by  her  whose  life  we  are  now  writing.  Crescentia 
was  born  Oct.  20,  1682  ;  she  was  baptized  on  the  day  fol- 
lowing in  the  parish  church  of  St.  Martin,  and  named 
Anna.  The  parish  priest,  Philip  Gach,  doctor  of  divinity 
and  dean  of  the  chapter  at  Kaufbeuren,  performed  the  holy 
rite.  Two  pious  Catholics,  Matthias  Propst  and  Mary 
Vogel,  stood  sponsors. 

The  fructifying  germ  of  the  higher  life,  implanted  at 
baptism  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this  child's  soul,  was  fos- 
tered by  Him  with  special  love,  until  it  grew  into  a 
flower  of  grace  of  wondrous  beauty,  which  delighted  the 
eye  of  the  heavenly  Gardener  and  filled  the  world,  far  and 
wide,  with  the  fragrance  of  the  most  glorious  virtues.  And 
if  it  be  true  that  Christian  parents  can  receive  from  God 
no  higher  gift  than  that  of  having  good  and  pious  chil- 
dren, then  these  poor  weavers  of  Kaufbeuren  were  re- 
warded for  their  godliness  in  a  manner  for  which  emper- 
ors and  kings  might  envy  them. 

Though  poor  in  worldly  goods,  they  were  rich  in  grace 
and  blessed  with  good  children.  Throughout  this  biogra- 
phy two  sayings  of  the  Wise  Man  are  continually  verified  : 
"  The  house  of  the  just  is  very  much  strength  :  and  in  the 
fruits  of  the  wicked  is  trouble." ' 

"  One  is,  as  it  were,  rich,  when  he  hath  nothing  :  and 
another  is,  as  it  were,  poor,  when  he  hath  great  riches. "* 

1  Prov.  xv.  6.  *  Ibid.  xiii.  7. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Child  of  Grace. 

JN  the  lives  of  many  Saints  it  has  been  observed 
that  the  fulness  of  grace  which  the  Lord  was  to 
confer  upon  them  in  the  course  of  their  lives, 
was  already  announced  by  certain  extraordinary  signs  ac- 
companying their  birth  or  occurring  in  the  first  years  of 
their  childhood.  Thus  a  beautiful  morning  dawn  of  an 
evidently  supernatural  character  heralded  the  brilliant  sun 
of  grace,  which  at  a  later  period  was  destined  to  trans- 
figure the  entire  life  of  Crescentia  into  a  blaze  of  light 
and  love. 

Her  elder  sister,  Sister  M.  Angelina,  says,  in  her 
memoir,  that  she  had  frequently  heard  her  mother  affirm 
that  she  had  brought  forth  this  child  of  the  elect  without 
pain  ;  and  the  germ  of  Divine  Life  planted  within  her 
soul  by  the  Holy  Ghost  at  her  baptism,  already  manifested 
itself  while  little  Anna  was  yet  in  the  cradle.  This,  indeed, 
would  be  scarcely  credible,  were  not  similar  facts  recorded  in 
the  history  of  many  other  Saints,  in  which  the  manifestations 
of  grace  preceded  the  physical  development  of  nature. 
To  mention  only  facts  concerning  well-known  Saints  of 
the  last  century,  similar  manifestations  occur  in  the  lives 
of  St.  Kose  of  Lima,  of  St.  Juliana  Falconieri,  of  St.  Ve- 
ronica Juliani,  of  St.  M.  Frances  of  the  Five  Wounds,  and 
of  the  pious  Anna  Catherine  Emmerich,  who  lived  in  our 
very  midst. 

While  little  Anna  was  yet  a  babe  in  her  mother's  arms, 
that  mother  often  remarked,  as  she  frequently  told  her 
daughters,  that  the  sweet,  quiet  child  appeared  to  have  a 
wondrous  sense  of  the  Divine.  The  pious  mother  was  a 
zealous  frequenter  of  the  daily  Mass,  and  as  she  had  no 
one  with  whom  she  dared  to  trust  her  darling  child,  she 
took  it  along  with  her  to  the  church,  where  it  made  no 
disturbance,  as  other  children  are  wont  to  do,  but  kept 


The  Ckild  of  Grace.  1 5 

still  and  quiet,  even  appearing  to  be  contented  and  happy, 
raising  its  hands  devoutly  and  fixing  its  eyes  immovably  on 
the  altar.  And  when  the  priest,  after  the  consecration, 
elevated  the  Host  for  the  adoration  of  the  faithful,  this 
little  child  appeared  to  be  filled  with  joy  and  devotion,  and 
its  lovely  countenance  beamed  with  the  glow  of  roseate 
brilliancy.1  The  first  words  which  the  tongue  of  the  in- 
fant learned  to  lisp,  were  "  Our  Father."  She  was  scarcely 
three  years  old,  when  of  her  own  accord,  she,  with  great 
fervor  and  earnestness,  would  recite  the  "Our  Father" 
and  "  Hail  Mary"  many  times  a  day.  At  the  same  age  she 
never  wearied  of  hearing  others  speak  of  God  and  of 
things  divine,  and  would  even  ask  for  instruction.  In  a 
very  short  time  she  knew  the  articles  of  faith  by  heart, 
and  astonished  every  one  by  her  ready  and  lucid  answers 
to  the  questions  of  the  catechism. 

From  her  fourth  year  upwards  she  manifested  a  great 
and  continuous  fervor  in  prayer.  She  was  often  seen  on 
her  knees  for  a  long  time  in  a  corner  of  the  house,  immov- 
able as  a  statue.  But  her  favorite  place  for  devotion  was 
the  Church.  Other  children  at  her  age  love  to  play,  but 
little  Anna  seemed  to  be  driven  by  an  irresistible  impulse 
to  the  House  of  God.  She  hardly  asked  her  parents  for 
anything  else,  save  for  permission  to  go  to  Church.  There 
she  tarried,  kneeling,  often  for  hours  together,  with  a  de- 
votion truly  angelic.  Her  delight  was  to  be  near  the  altar, 
because  there  the  magnet  of  her  heart,  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
her  Saviour,  was  present.  She  was  not  content  with  hear- 
ing one  holy  Mass,  she  would  remain  at  all  that  were  said, 
unless  her  parents  called  her  away.  Even  at  other  times, 
when  there  was  no  Mass,  she  would,  if  permitted,  hasten  to 
the  Church,  which  was  for  her  the  gate  of  heaven.  Her 
parents  knew  very  well,  whenever  she  was  absent  from  home, 
that  they  should  find  her  there,  kneeling  before  the  altar, 
absorbed  in  prayer. 

Thus  did  this  infant  soul,  at  that  early  age,  already  look 

1  Act  B.  Summ.  N.  5. 


16          The  Life  of  Vcn.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

for  the  "  things  above  "  with  a  fervor  and  perseverance  that 
may  well  put  many,  if  not  most,  Christians,  to  the  blush. 
From  this  childish  heart  a  prayer  like  to  the  fragrance  of 
sweet  incense  ascended  to  the  throne  of  the  heavenly  Fa- 
ther, surpassing  in  simplicity,  purity,  and  fervor  most  of 
the  prayers  so  often  mechanically  offered  up  by  grown-up 
Christians. 

All  who  knew  the  child  were  witnesses  of  her  astonish- 
ing piety  ;  yet,  its  deeper  source  was  hidden  from  their 
view.  It  was  not  till  after  years  tliat,  being  compelled 
thereto  by  holy  obedience,  she  disclosed  to  her  confessors 
the  mysteries  of  her  childhood.  The  Act  of  her  Beatifica- 
tion states  in  general  terms  that  from  her  third  or  fourth 
year  she  had  wonderful  visions  of  the  Infant  Jesus  and  of 
her  guardian  angel.1  Father  Ott  relates  some  particulars 
concerning  these  visions  ;  he  writes  : '  When  she  was  three 
years  old  the  Infant  Jesus  appeared  to  her  in  a  form  of 
wondrous  beauty  :  He  was  dressed  in  a  coat  of  violet-color 
embroidered  with  flowers,  with  a  red  mantle  ;  His  head  and 
feet  were  bare.  She  was  all  alone,  but  had  some  milk,  an 
apple,  and  a  pear,  which  her  mother  had  just  given  her. 
The  little  girl  spoke  to  the  Boy  Jesus,  and  invited  Him  to 
eat  with  her.  The  Boy  replied:  "  My  Father  has  much" 
better  food  and  much  sweeter  fruit  than  these  in  His  gar- 
den." "Who  is  your  Father,  and  where  do  you  live? 
What  is  your  name,  and  your  Mother's  name?"  inquired 
the  little  one.  "  My  Father  is  the  heavenly  Father,  and 
f  My  dwelling  place  is  in  the  heavenly  Jerusalem.  My 
name  is  Jesus,  and  the  name  of  My  beloved  Mother  is 
Mary."  When  Anna  heard  this  she  was  exceedingly  glad 
and  begged  the  child  to  take  her  to  His  Father  in  the  gar- 
den, and  immediately  she  was  rapt  in  ecstasy  and  carried 
off  to  Paradise  to  the  heavenly  Father,  who  said  to  her  : 
"  If  you  wish  to  be  My  child,  you  must  love  Me  and  this 
My  Son  alone:  you  must  have  no  communication  with 
other  children,  you  must  love  retirement  and  obey  your 

1  Act  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  11.  64.  *  Ott,  B.  III.  Cb.  4. 


The  Child  of  Grace.  1 7 

parents  in  everything."  Then  the  Divine  Child,  smiling 
at  her  most  lovingly,  said:  "There  is  but  one  God  in 
whom  you  must  believe  ;  but  there  are  three  Divine  Per- 
sons :  the  heavenly  Father,  I  Myself,  the  Son  of  God,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost,  and  we  three  are  but  one  God.  This  is 
the  first  thing  you  must  believe  and  know."  On  this  she 
received,  as  a  special  grace,  the  use  of  reason,  and  when  she 
came  to  herself,  she  was  lying  on  her  bed.  Her  mother 
had  brought  her  in  and  laid  her  there,  as  she  mistook  this 
ecstasy  for  a  profound  sleep.  The  effect  produced  by  this 
vision  was  extraordinary  :  a  powerful  desire  to  possess  and 
eternally  to  retain  this  Sublime  Good  was  enkindled  in  her 
heart,  and  from  that  time  forth  prayer  and  meditation 
formed  her  only  delight. 

This  extraordinary  intercourse  with  the  supernatural 
world  was  repeated  from  time  to  time.  We  will  here  re- 
late another  vision  which  she  had  of  the  Infant  Jesus,  fol- 
lowing the  same  author  : '  The  Divine  Child  appeared  to 
her  and  said  :  "  My  delight  is  to  be  with  the  children 
of  men.  ""  "My  child,  give  Me  thy  heart,  and  everything 
that  I  possess  is  thine."  Lovingly  embracing  her,  the  In- 
fant then  placed  a  ring  on  her  finger,  saying  :  "  Now,  I 
have  espoused  thee  to  Myself ;  thou  art  Mine,  and  I  am 
thine  :  thy  heart  and  My  heart  shall  be  but  one  heart." 

Like  so  many  other  mystical  Saints,  she  also  carried  on 
a  most  remarkable  intercourse  with  her  holy  angel  guard- 
ian; he  often  appeared  to  her  in  a  visible  form ;  he  accom- 
panied her  to  Church  and  school,  and  stationed  himself  by 
her  side  ;  he  instructed  her  in  the  articles  of  faith,  espec- 
ially teaching  her  how  to  perform  all  her  actions  with  a 
good  intention.3  Her  elder  sister,  M.  Angelina,  even  as- 
serts that  Crescentia  once  received  from  him  a  cilice 
(hair  shirt),  with  the  injunction  to  wear  it  for  love  of 
Jesus.  It  is  certain  that  from  her  fourth  year  upwards 
she  was  accustomed  to  chastise  her  guileless  body  in  many 
ways,  even  with  fastings  and  scourgings. 

1  Ott,  B.  I.  p.  58.  2  Prov.  viii.  31.  »  Ott,  B.  III.  Ch.  4. 


1 8          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Cre  scent  ia. 

God  Himself  so  ordained  matters  that  this  privileged 
child  received  the  Sacraments  of  Confirmation  and  Holy 
Eucharist  earlier  than  is  customary  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church.  She  was  confirmed  in  her  third  or  fourth  year, 
together  with  her  sister  Mary,  who  was  some  six  years  old- 
er, by  the  Coadjutor-bishop  of  Augsburg,  May  23,  1685, 
or  according  to  other  records,  1686.  She  received  Holy 
Communion  at  the  age  of  seven  years,  which  is  in  itself  a 
striking  proof  of  her  piety,  otherwise  the  parish  priest 
would  not  have  permitted  it.  Her  desire  for  this  heavenly 
food  had  for  a  long  time  previously  been  extraordinarily 
great ;  so  much  so  that  for  years  before  she  would  make 
frequent  spiritual  communions,  with  so  much  devotion 
that  she  sometimes  spent  a  whole  hour  in  doing  so. ' 

While  yet  very  young  she  was  sent  to  school  and  to  the 
catechetical  instruction  given  in  the  Church.  According 
to  the  testimony  of  many  trustworthy  witnesses,  she  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  everybody  by  her  conduct  and  by 
her  answers  to  the  questions  proposed.  John  Baptist 
Neth,  a  councilman  of  the  city,  says  that  when  the  other 
children  failed  to  answer,  the  priest  used  to  ask  Anna, 
who  never  missed  giving  so  clear  and  defined  a  reply  that 
all  present  were  astonished  at  her  words.  Father  Igna- 
tius Wagner,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  at  that  time  giv- 
ing the  instructions  ;  and  many  times  he  could  not  re- 
press his  feeling  of  admiration,  and  publicly  exclaimed  : 
"  My  child,  you  must  have  had  a  higher  Teacher ! " 
Sometimes  he  even  made  the  little  child  stand  on  a  bench, 
and  speak  from  it,  that  all  present  might  see,  hear,  and 
admire  her.  In  very  fact,  she  had  had  that  higher 
Teacher,  who  enlightened  the  prophets  and  Apostles 
and  who  communicates  understanding  and  life,  not  by 
letters  and  words,  but  by  interior  inspirations  of  light  and 
love. 

At  school  she  likewise  manifested  the  early  maturity 
of  her  mind.  Her  teacher  acknowledged  that  she  had 

1  ott,  B.  H.  en.  s. 


The  Child  of  Grace.  rg 

never  seen  a  child  like  her,  and  that  she  must  have  re- 
ceived instructions  from  above.  In  a  very  short  time 
she  learned  to  read  and  write  well,  and  that  was  all  the 
schooling  she  ever  received,  except  that  at  a  later  date 
she  took  lessons  for  one  year  in  music,  in  which  she  con- 
tinued to  delight  up  to  her  old  age.  Mr.  Biber,  the  di- 
rector of  the  choir,  who  was  her  music  teacher,  often  ex- 
pressed his  astonishment  at  the  facility  with  which  this 
child  surmounted  all  difficulties.  '  She  had  a  pleasing 
voice  and  a  good  enunciation,  so  that  her  singing  was  uni- 
versally applauded. 

Speaking  in  general  terms,  she  had  received  from  Al- 
mighty God  an  extraordinary  number  of  natural  gifts  : 
she  had  a  very  keen  and  penetrating  intellect,  an  exube- 
rant imagination,  an  extremely  kind  and  tractable  dispo- 
sition, pure  and  clear  as  the  crystal  spring  from  the  rock, 
a  heart  so  tender,  so  full  of  love,  and  withal  so  magnani- 
mous and  vigorous,  that  it  was  ready  for  any  heroic  act, 
whether  of  work  or  of  suffering.  Although  her  body  was 
extremely  frail  and  delicate,  she  was  competent  for  any 
task,  being  equally  at  home  with  the  works  of  busy  Mar- 
tha, as  with  the  contemplations  of  the  quiet,  thoughtful 
Mary. 

These  precious  germs  of  good  were  constantly  fostered, 
fructified,  and  developed  by  the  excellent  education  which 
she  received  at  home,  in  the  bosom  of  a  Christian  family. 
A  rare  flower  never  flourishes  along  the  public  roadside ;  it 
needs  to  be  well  tended  in  an  enclosed  garden  ;  so,  also,  the 
child  of  God  flourishes  well  only  in  the  garden  appointed 
by  nature  and  by  God  Himself,  and  this  garden  is  the 
Christian  family.  On  this  account  the  heavenly  Gardener 
chose  the  poor  and  plain,  but  holy,  family  of  the  obscure 
citizen  of  Kaufbeuren,  that  His  dear  child  might,  at  ease  and 
unmolested,  lay  the  foundation  of  her  spiritual  life  within 
these  homely  walls,  as  in  a  peaceful,  well-protected  garden. 

The  child  saw  and  heard  at  home  nothing  but  the  prac- 
1  ott,  B.  i.  ch.  i. 


2O          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

tical  exempliOcation  of  Christian  virtue.  This  personified 
Christianity  replaces,  and  in  reality  infinitely  surpasses,  all 
theoretical  rules  of  training.  Above  all,  the  deep  religious 
feeling  of  her  noble-minded  father  could  not  fail  to  make  an 
impression  on  the  susceptible  heart  of  little  Anna,  and  bring 
forth  fruit  a  hundred-fold.  His  tender  devotion  to  the 
bitter  passion  of  our  Lord,  his  mortifications,  his  fervor  in 
prayer,  urged  her  onward  to  do  the  like. 

Arid  when  this  pious  father,  as  he  often  did,  spoke  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  Anna,  when  scarcely  four  years 
old,  would  shed  abundant  tears.  Nay,  soon  she  herself 
began  to  open  her  mouth  and  from  the  fulness  of  her  agi- 
tated heart  to  utter  marvellous  words  concerning  the  passion 
of  our  Lord,  so  that  her  father,  excited  and  astonished  at 
her  expressions,  exclaimed  :  "  Child,  where  did  you  learn 
that  ?  "  She  herself  could  not  tell  this  ;  silence  and  tears 
were  her  only  reply. 

The  rare  combination  of  such  great  interior  and  exterior 
graces  could  not  fail  very  early  to  produce  the  happiest  ef- 
fects. The  heart  of  the  little  Anna  was,  by  the  special  influ- 
ence of  t'he  Holy  Ghost,  opened  prematurely  to  the  light  of 
reason  and  faith,  and  she  followed  the  invigorating  move- 
ment of  divine  grace,  which  led  her  on  to  the  last  aim  and 
end,  and  directed  all  her  longing  and  desires,  her  affections, 
nay,  her  life  itself  to  the  Sun  of  all  justice.  This  early  ten- 
dency of  the  soul  to  God  is  assuredly  of  rare  occurrence;  but 
even  more  rare,  and  still  more  precious,  is  the  fidelity  with 
which  this  chosen  soul  advanced  to  sanctity,  without  inter- 
ruption, without  relaxation  or  repose,  constantly  increasing 
in  perfection  and  constantly  hurrying  forward  with  rapid 
and  still  more  rapid  step  to  complete  sanctity.  We  find 
in  the  lives  of  almost  all  the  Saints,  even  of  those  who  are 
held  up  as  models  of  innocence  from  having  never  com- 
mitted a  mortal  sin,  a  period  of  lukewarmness,  and  a  time 
when  the  spirit  of  the  world  seemed  to  obtain  entrance.  A 
time  which,  at  a  later  date,  offers  matter  to  humility,  gives 
occasion  to  unceasing  interior  contrition  and  thanksgiving 


The  Child  of  Grace.  21 

to  God,  in  that  He  has,  as  they  term  it,  given  them  the 
grace  of  conversion. 

Of  such  a  crisis  as  this  the  most  searching  inquiry  into 
the  life  of  Crescentia  discovers  not  the  least  symptom. 
Like  a  true  flower  of  Heaven,  planted  by  God  Himself  on 
earth,  she,  even  as  a  child,  opened  her  fragrant  blossoms,  and 
developed  them  more  and  more  in  the  fulness  of  that  grace 
which  so  harmoniously  pervaded  her  being,  until  the  time 
came  that  Christ  alone  appeared  to  live  in  her.  .This  may 
appear  of  less  practical  interest  to  our  eyes,  which  love  the 
contrast  of  light  and  shadow  ;  but,  in  reality,  what  can  be 
more  wonderfully  beautiful  than  to  see  this  lily  beneath 
the  thorns  of  earth,  in  whom  the  love  and  beauty  of  Christ 
are  so  victoriously  revealed  that  it  almost  seems  as  if  she 
had  never  sinned  in  Adam. 

At  the  age  of  six,  before  her  first  communion,  she  took 
the  vow  of  perpetual  chastity  in  honor  of  the  Immaculate 
Virgin  Mary. '  This  she  did  of  her  own  accord,  or  rather, 
impelled  thereto  by  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Pure  as  an  angel  was  she  then,  and  pure  as  an  angel  did  she 
ever  remain,  as  according  to  the  testimony  of  her  confes- 
sion, she  was  never  tempted  to  violate  purity  in  any  way. 
Even  in  her  exterior  conduct,  the  power  of  grace  mani- 
fested itself  in  so  striking  a  manner  that  she  was  known 
all  over  the  neighborhood  by  the  name  of  the  little  angel. 

Even  good  children  occasionally  give  their  parents  cause 
for  sadness  or  uneasiness,  from  the  levity  and  inconsider- 
ateness  of  their  age.  But  both  the  parents  of  this  child 
in  after  times  assured  the  Superioress  of  the  convent 
at  Kaufbeuren  that  she  had  never  given  them  reason 
to  complain  of  her.  And  that  this  docility  of  her's  and 
this  purity  were  not  the  consequence  of  her  natural  dispo- 
sition is  proved  by  the  fact  that  from  her  earliest  years  she 
cherished  such  a  hatred  of  sin,  even  of  the  smallest  descrip- 
tion, as  is  seldom  found  even  among  pious  grown-up  peo- 

1  Summ.  N.  5.    A  document  signed  by  ten  Sisters,  Aug.  28,  1753,  testifies  that  she 
herself  revealed  it  to  her  Superioress  Johanna,  in  obedience. 


22          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

pie  in  an  equal  degree.  It  was  the  work  of  grace.  She 
would  frequently  say  to  her  father  :  "  Oh,  father !  may 
God  grant  that  I  may  not  commit  a  sin  during  my  whole 
life.  Oh,  father  !  no  sin  ;  I  would  rather  die  a  thousand 
times  than  commit  one  sin."  When  asked  why  she  feared 
sin  so  much,  she  replied  :  "  Because  it  offends  God." 

Children  generally  love  games  and  the  company  of  other 
children,  but  little  Anna  would  never  stir  from  the  house, 
except  to  go  to  Church  and  to  school.  She  spoke  but  little, 
and  then  only  of  God  with  deep  emotion.  To  remain  alone 
and  pray  in  a  little  oratory  erected  under  the  roof,  or  re- 
main for  hours  on  her  knees  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament ; 
these  were  her  games  and  recreations.  Even  at  that  time 
she  had  the  grace  to  use  all  creatures  as  a  mirror  in  which 
she  could  perceive  the  Divinity.  A  glance  at  a  flower,  at 
the  stars,  nay,  even  at  a  blade  of  grass,  sufficed  to  raise  her 
thoughts  to  Heaven  and  to  God  in  holy  gratitude.  Her 
soul  resembled  the  sun-flower,  which,  awakened  by  the  first 
bright  ray  of  light,  still  turns  its  golden  chalice  to  the  day- 
star  as  it  revolves,  accompanies  it  in  its  course,  and  imbibes 
from  it  light  and  life.  Fortunate  child  !  What  the  great- 
est number  of  men  scarcely  understand  in  their  old  age, 
and  after  a  bitter  experience,  you  have  practised  from  the 
very  cradle.  You  have  given  your  heart  to  God  for  life 
and  death.  By  the  grace  of  God  you  are  what  you  are  : 
but  you  have  not  to  lament,  as  we  too  often  have,  that  the 
grace  of  God  has  remained  void  for  you.  And  since  we,  in 
the  time  of  our  youth,  opened  our  hearts  too  early  and 
too  widely  to  the  world,  may  God  grant  that  at  least  in  our 
old  age  we  may  fulfil  the  words  of  Holy  Writ  :  "  Give, 
therefore,  your  hearts  and  your  souls  to  seek  the  Lord  your 
God."1 


1  I.  Paral.  xxii.  18. 


CHAPTER  III. 
Crescentia  a  Model  for  Young  Women.1 

|HEN  Crescentia  grew  up  to  young  womanhood, 
the  blessed  child,  as  she  increased  in  age,  in- 
creased  also  in  wisdom  and  grace  before  God  and 
man.  All  who  knew  her,  both  Protestants  and  Catholics, 
are  unanimous  in  their  assertions  "  that  the  pious  Annerl 
was  more  like  an  angel  than  a  mortal."  Long  after  her 
death  parents  and  teachers  used  to  refer  to  this  holy  virgin 
as  an  example  and  mirror  of  all  virtues,  especially  of  that 
of  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience.2 

She  never  was  seen  at  public  gatherings;  never  with  per- 
sons of  the  other  sex  ;  in  a  word,  she  was  never  found  out- 
side of  the  house,  except  when  visiting  the  Church  or  when 
business  compelled  her  so  to  do ;  and  in  every  case  her 
whole  demeanor,  her  dress,  gait,  manner  of  talking,  with 
her  angelic  modesty,  bore  public  testimony  to  the  purity 
and  interior  collectedness  of  her  soul. 

At  home  she  was  the  help  and  consolation  of  her  parents. 
She  assisted  her  mother  with  diligence  and  skill  in  her 
domestic  duties  and  household  work,  as  well  as  in  the 
education  and  instruction  of  the  other  children.  She  helped 
her  father  by  winding  the  yarn  on  the  spools  and  in  other 
matters  connected  with  his  trade.  She  herself  even  learnt 
to  weave,  and  afterwards,  when  she  was  at  the  convent,  she 
not  only  wove  the  cloth  for  the  habits  of  the  Order,  but 
taught  other  Sisters  how  to  do  it. 

The  promptitude  and  alacrity  with  which  she  obeyed 
every  hint  or  word  given  by  her  parents  was  not  unlike  that 
of  the  angels,  who  always  do  the  will  of  the  Most  High. 
Her  piety,  flowing  from  the  pure  and  deep  fountain  of 
faith,  betrayed  no  mark  of  hypocritical  devotion,  or  of  sad- 
ness, nor  yet  of  self-seeking ;  her  beaming  countenance 

1  Summ.  N.  5.  passim.  -  Summ.  N.  15.  8 162- 


24         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

mirrored  the  heart's  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  She 
spoke  but  seldom  and  never  of  herself,  not  even  to  excuse 
herself  when  accused  of  faults  committed  by  others. 

Her  practical  charity  towards  the  sick  and  needy  manifest- 
ed itself  more  and  more;  so  that,  in  truth,  the  words  of  the 
pious  Job  might  be  applied  to  her:  "  For  from  my  infancy 
mercy  grew  up  with  me  :  and  it  came  out  with  me  from  my 
mother's  womb."1  The  example  of  her  good  mother  must 
certainly  have  been  a  great  encouragement  to  her,  while 
her  own  lively  faith,  which  saw  Jesus  Christ  Himself  in  the 
persons  of  the  poor  and  suffering,  imparted  to  her  love  not 
only  a  sublime  Christian  character,  but  raised  it  to  a  height 
on  which  she  appeared  absolutely  to  forget  herself.  Her 
sister  Eegina  bears  witness  that  Crescentia  had  the  tender- 
est  compassion  for  every  afflicted  person ;  even  animals 
were  not  excluded  from  her  sympathy,  and  whenever  she 
heard  that  one  of  them  was  to  be  butchered,  her  heart  was 
pierced  with  grief.  When  a  beggar  knocked  at  the  door 
she  hastened  as  cheerfully  to  greet  him  as  if  the  King  of 
Heaven  Himself  had  been  there,  and  received  him  in  the 
kindest  manner.  If  she  happened  to  be  at  table  she  would 
beg  permission  of  her  parents  to  be  allowed  to  give  her  own 
share  to  the  poor  person.  As  often  as  this  request  was 
granted,  it  was  easily  seen  in  her  countenance  that  she 
considered  it  a  great  gain.  And  indeed,  it  is  much  sweeter 
to  give  than  to  receive  :  and  whoever  gives  for  God's  sake, 
gains  more  than  a  hundred-fold. 

Knowing  that  the  victory  over  one's  self  and  one's 
natural  inclinations  is  the  first  lesson  in  the  school  of 
Christ,  she  mortified  herself  in  all  her  natural  inclinations 
and  tried  to  impress  the  cross  of  Christ  on  her  body,  her 
heart,  and  her  soul.  In  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping  she 
was  more  than  moderate,  as  also  in  all  her  bodily  needs;  she 
always  used  to  take  the  worst  for  herself  and  even  of  that 
only  a  little.  To  subject  the  body  more  completely  to  the 
spirit,  she  tortured  it  by  the  use  of  hair-cloth  (cilioiums), 

1  Jobxxxl    is. 


A  Model  for  Young  Women.  25 

scourges,  bitter  herbs,  and  long  vigils.  Even  then  she  had 
opportunity  given  her  to  exercise  patience,  the  true  test  of 
virtue,  for,  as  her  sister  Angelina  relates,  she  had  to  suffer 
from  extraordinary  attacks  of  Satan.  In  short,  the  suffer- 
ings of  Christ,  on  which  she  so  frequently  meditated  in- 
teriorly, were  outwardly  imprinted  on  her  body.  The 
spirit  of  devotion  and  of  prayer  were  constantly  developing 
themselves  in  her  to  still  greater  degrees  of  perfection. 
She  practised  an  almost  unbroken  prayer  at  her  work  and 
most  assuredly  devoted  to  it  every  moment  of  leisure.  She 
had  selected  a  corner  in  a  secluded  part  of  the  house,  where 
she  could  give  herself  up  to  prayer  and  mortification. 
For  hours  together  she  knelt  there,  her  body  as  immovable 
as  a  statue  ;  and  there  she  listened  with  all  the  powers  of 
her  soul  to  the  mysterious  voice  of  her  only  Beloved.  She 
shortened  her  sleep,  and  very  often,  even  in  the  severest 
winter  time,  would  kneel  for  hours  beside  her  bed.  From 
her  earliest  childhood  she  assisted  at  the  first  Mass  in  the 
early  morning,  and  remained  there  on  her  knees,  immova- 
ble, until  obedience  to  her  parents  called  her  hence.  This 
recollection  of  spirit  and  perseverance  in  prayer  inflamed 
her  heart  with  the  glow  of  that  supernatural  love  which 
alone  is  able  to  elevate  the  soul  above  all  distractions  from 
without,  and  all  affections  from  within,  and  thus  strengthen 
its  union  with  God.  It  was  this  very  love  which  commu- 
nicated to  her  body  that  immovability  which  astonished 
all  who  beheld  her,  and  caused  them,  as  councilman  Neth, 
an  eye-witness,  assures  us,  to  call  her,  "  the  statue." 

Father  Heiland,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  at  that  time 
her  confessor.1  He  acknowledges  that  he  never  knew  a 
soul  which  united  such  purity  to  such  humility  and  such  a 
spirit  of  mortification,  and  that  he  was  frequently  at  a  loss 
to  find  matter  on  which  to  base  an  absolution.  "With  his 
permission  she  received  the  Blessed  Sacrament  on  all  Sun- 
days and  feast-days.  Nothing  could  be  more  edifying 
than  to  see  her  approach  the  table  of  the  Lord.  In  conse- 

1  ott.  B.  i.  ch.  i. 


26         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

quence  of  the  long  preparation  she  made,  she  had  become 
a  living  picture  of  devotion,  and  many  persons  bore  witness 
that  they  were  excited  to  piety  and  recollection  by  the  mere 
sight  of  the  angelical  fervor  of  this  virgin.  When  at  Holy 
Communion  she  -seemed  rapt  almost  to  ecstasy,  and  her 
countenance  glowed  with  the  beauty  of  a  rose.  Having 
completed  a  long  thanksgiving  in  the  Church,  she  yet  con- 
tinued it  through  the  day,  being  more  silent  than  usual, 
and  more  occupied  with  God.  We  know,  however,  but 
little  of  the  interior  action  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  her  soul, 
and  of  the  extraordinary  light  and  grace  which  were  com- 
municated to  her  at  Holy  Communion,  because  she  con- 
cealed, with  the  utmost  care,  the  interior  state  of  her  mind. 
Only  once,  when  she  was  Mistress  of  Novices,  the  remark 
escaped  her  in  the  presence  of  her  pupils,  the  novices,  that 
her  communion  days  had  been  by  far  the  happiest  days 
of  her  youth. 

For  the  rest,  we  know  that  on  the  day  before  she  so  pre- 
pared herself  for  Holy  Communion  by  fervent  prayer,  and 
virtuous  exercises,  that  her  desire  to  be  united  with  her 
Redeemer  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  increased  to  that  de- 
gree that  she  could  scarcely  sleep  the  previous  night.1 
Before  the  morning  dawned  this  desire  called  her  to  the 
Church  to  seek  her  Saviour.  She  was  very  often  kneeling 
before  the  Church  door  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
seeking  her  Bridegroom  in  the  Tabernacle  with  the  eyes  of 
her  heart,  while  patiently  awaiting  the  opening  of  the 
Church-door. 

Hence  we  can  scarcely  be  surprised  that  the  same  spirit 
of  God,  that  worked  such  miracles  of  devotion  in  the  heart 
of  this  virgin,  should  at  times  change  the  exterior  order  of 
things  in  order  to  reward  the  fidelity  of  His  servant,  as  also 
to  confirm  her  in  her  devotion.  Her  confessor,  Father 
Pamer,  heard  from  herself  that  the  Church-doors,  which 
had  been  closed  with  heavy  bolts,  often  opened  of  them- 
selves when  she  knelt  before  them,  and  were  shut  in  the 

»  Ott,  p.  38. 


A  Model  for  Young  Women.  27 

same  way  when  she  had  entered  the  Church. '  The  pious 
maiden  then  tarried  in  a  corner  of  the  Church,  rapt  in 
thanksgiving,  love,  and  prayer,  and  was  unobserved  by 
the  sacristan  when  he  came  to  open  the  Church. 

The  devotion  to  the  passion  of  Christ  which  she  inherited 
from  her  father  gradually  developed  itself,  until  it  took  pos- 
session of  her  whole  soul.  Almost  every  exterior  object  re- 
minded her  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  stirred  up 
within  her  a  burning  desire  to  be  crucified  with  the 
Saviour,  and  to  know  of  nothing,  hear  of  nothing,  and  love 
nothing  but  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified. 

Such  sublime  virtues,  in  this  modest,  amiable,  and  affa- 
ble maiden,  could  scarcely  fail  to  call  forth  the  greatest 
love  on  the  part  of  her  parents,  or  to  secure  the  respect  and 
admiration  of  all  who  knew  her.  Every  one  said  that  not 
even  the  smallest  fault  could  be  found  in  her,  but  that,  on 
the  contrary,  she  showed  a  perfection  more  like  that  of  an- 
gels than  that  of  human  beings.  There  were  many  who 
could  not  refrain  from  praising  her  greatly  to*  her  face, 
which  might  have  proved  very  dangerous  had  not  the 
Spirit  of  God  watched  over  her  and  early  taught  her  that 
no  danger  is  to  be  more  carefully  fled  from  and  avoided 
than  that  of  vanity  and  the  desire  of  pleasing  ;  consequent- 
ly, the  sweet  poison  of  praise,  too  sweet,  alas,  to  poor  fallen 
humanity,  found  no  admittance  into  her  soul.  She  re- 
jected every  emotion  of  self-complacency  with  the  utmost 
care,  and  when,  as  happened  quite  often,  she  heard  others 
express  admiration  for  her  bodily  or  spiritual  superiority, 
she  would  shrink  back  as  from  a  venomous  serpent,  and 
blushing  with  shame,  while  interiorly  suffering,  *  would 
quit  the  company  in  all  haste  !  As  she  was  applauded  on 
account  of  her  beautiful  singing  she  would  frequently  make 
mistakes  on  purpose  to  avoid  this,  rightly  considering  that 
the  discord  of  one  vain  thought  is  a  greater  injury  to 
Eternal  Truth  than  a  false  tone  in  a  piece  of  music  swiftly 
passing  away.  From  the  same  spirit  of  love  and  of  humil- 

1  Summ.  N.  5.  §  16,  8  120,  s  195.  *  Ott,  p.  9. 


28          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ity  arose  her  practice  of  taking  for  her  own  share  the 
most  menial  and  laborious  part  of  the  house-work,  and 
thus  sparing  her  sisters  the  trouble. 

The  youth  of  this  soul,  thus  called  to  angelical  perfection, 
was  in  this  way  passed  in  innocence,  in  simplicity,  and  in 
undisturbed  peace,  even  as  a  clear  brook  glides  through  a 
quiet  valley.  She  was  a  lovely  child,  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  word,  admired  by  every  one  and  set  up  for  an  example  t 
to  young  women.  The  darkening  storm-clouds,  which  at  a 
later  date  broke  over  her,  had  not  yet  appeared.  The  clear 
sky  of  her  outward  life  was  not  as  yet  darkened  by  the 
faintest  speck  of  mist.  Loving  everybody  and  beloved  by 
everybody,  she  might,  in  the  very  love  that  filled  her  heart, 
have  found  a  temptation  to  seek  to  satisfy  that  love  by 
bestowing  it  on  a  creature,  had  not  faith  long  since  taught 
her  soul  the  true  direction,  by  pointing  out  the  path  in 
which  alone  rest  can  be  attained  by  a  human  being  endowed 
with  reason. 

We  do  not  by  this  intend  to  affirm  that  she  had  nothing 
to  suffer.  In  that  case  she  would  not  have  been  led  by  God, 
who  chastises  all  whom  He  loves.  We  know  that  from  her 
very  childhood  she  wandered  at  times  through  the  great 
wilderness  of  interior  desolation  ;  and  that  she  was  exposed 
to  satanic  temptations  and  vexations,  the  particulars  con- 
cerning which  have  not  come  down  to  us.  Besides  this, 
there  was  always  a  desire,  nestling  in  her  soul  from  her  very 
earliest  years,  which  prevented  her  from  feeling  wholly  at 
rest,  even  in  the  bosom  of  her  family  ;  it  was  the  longing 
to  consecrate  herself  entirely  to  her  Kedeemer  in  the  relig- 
ious state.  "Go  forth  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred,  and  out  of  thy  father's  house,  and  come  into  the 
land  which  I  shall  show  thee."  '  Thus  spoke  the.  Lord  to 
her  as  He  had  done  to  Abraham.  Great  obstacles  seemed 
to  render  the  fulfilment  of  this  wish  of  her  heart  impossible. 
Nevertheless,  nothing  could  weaken  her  hope  of  becoming 
a  spouse  of  the  Lord  ;  God  Himself  had  awakened  this 

1  Genesis  xli.  l. 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff.  29 

hope  within  her  and  had  confirmed  it  in  an  extraordinary 
manner. 

According  to  Father  Ott's  testimony, '  her  guardian  angel 
appeared  to  her  when  she  was  fourteen  years  old,  carrying 
in  one  hand  a  red  cross,  in  the  other  the  habit  of  St.  Fran- 
cis. He  addressed  her  in  these  words  :  "  See,  my  child, 
a  dress  like  this  has  been  prepared  for  thee."  In  this  way 
her  future  lot  was  plainly  indicated.  A  life  of  the  Cross,  a 
cross  of  love  in  the  garment  of  St.  Francis, — such  was  to  be 
her  path  to  Heaven  when  youth  had  passed  away.  An- 
other vocation  than  this  could  scarcely  be  expected  for  a 
virgin  to  whom  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost  could  so  ap- 
propriately be  applied:  "0  how  beautiful  is  the  chaste 
generation  with  glory:  for  the  memory  thereof  is  immortal: 
because  it  is  known  both  with  God  and  with  men."3 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff. — Extraordinary  Vocation. 

1HERE  was  a  convent  of  the  Third  Order  of  St. 
Francis  at  Kaufbeuren  in  which  the  Sisters  lived 
in  great  poverty.  According  to  the  statements 
found  in  the  records  of  said  convent,  it  must  have  been  built 
in  1023  by  a  noble  lady  who  took  the  veil  therein.  To  what 
Order  the  Sisters  belonged  who  inhabited  the  convent  in 
those  first  centuries  is  unknown.  In  the  year  1470  the  city 
was  almost  destroyed  by  a  tremendous  fire,  by  which  the  con- 
vent was  also  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ashes.  The  Mother  Su- 
perior, Anna  Scherich,  however,  by  the  help  of  kind  bene- 
factors, rebuilt  the  convent,  which  still  stands.  It  appears 
that  it  was  at  that  time  that  the  Sisters  adopted  the  Eule  of 
the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis.  This  Rule,  as  is  well 
known,  was  originally  written  for  penitents,  married  or  sin- 
gle, living  in  the  world.  In  the  fifteenth  century  it  was  first 

1  Ott,  n.  III.  Ch.  4.  a  Wisdom  iv.  1. 


30          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

adapted  by  blessed  Angelina,  Countess  Marscliiani  (i|i  1435) 
to  community  life,  and  in  that  form  was  approved  by  Popes 
Urban  VI.,  Boniface  IX.,  Martin  V.,  and,  in  a  special 
manner,  by  Leo  X.  Cloisters  following  this  Rule  were  soon 
to  be  found  in  every  land,  although  with  constitutions  dif- 
fering from  each  other.  In  this  convent,  called  Mayrhoff , 
the  Mother  Superior  was  elected  for  life.  From  the  year 
1470  to  1874  the  names  of  twenty-four  are  registered  in 
the  annals  of  the  convent,  with  the  number  of  years  they 
were  in  office. 

In  the  fearful  storm  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  convent 
suffered  great  distress,  as  a  considerable  number  of  the  in- 
habitants of  Kaufbeuren,  particularly  from  the  year  1544, 
embraced  the  new  doctrine.  The  Mother  Superior  of  that 
period,  Regina  Kirchmayr,  however,  with  the  Sisters  under 
her  rule,  courageously  withstood  all  temptations.  The  Sis- 
ters remained  firm  in  their  faith,  and  true  to  their  voca- 
tion, but  for,  nearly  a  century  had  to  suffer  so  many  per- 
secutions and  losses  that  they  fell  into  a  degree  of  poverty 
which  was  really  oppressive. 

When  our  servant  of  God  felt  herself  called  to  the  re- 
ligious state,  she  first  applied  to  this  community,  with 
which  she  had  been  acquainted  from  youth  upwards. 
Whoever  would  have  considered  this  step  in  the  light  of 
worldly  wisdom  would  have  found  but  little  attraction  to 
induce  any  one  to  enter  this  particular  convent,  for  its  pov- 
erty was  well  known  and  was  very  great.  How  great 
this  poverty  was  may  be  learned  from  the  fact  that  Mother 
Johanna  Altweger,  who  ruled  the  community  in  a  most 
praiseworthy  manner  from  1707  to  1741,  found  on  her 
installation  a  multitude  of  pressing  wants,  and  only 
half-a-florin  in  the  treasury.  The  income  of  the  convent 
was  so  small  that  the  Sisters,  with  their  utmost  efforts 
at  their  hard  work,  could  scarcely  manage  to  live,  even  in 
the  sparing  fashion  to  which  they  were  accustomed.  This 
circumstance  could  not  fail  to  be  detrimental  to  cloistral 
discipline,  and  yet,  on  the  whole,  it  was  not  a  poor  religious 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff.  3 1 

spirit  that  reigned  therein.  Some  Sisters  served  the  Lord 
in  true  piety  and  simplicity,  while  some  others  seem  not 
to  have  possessed  a  high  degree  of  the  spirit  of  devotion 
and  love.  But  God  had,  from  all  eternity,  chosen  the  poor 
weaver's  daughter,  who,  in  her  humility,  considered  herself 
unworthy  to  hold  even  the  last  place  in  the  house,  to  make 
this  religious  community  a  model  of  perfection  in  a  tem- 
poral as  well  as  spiritual  point  of  view,  although  from  cir- 
cumstances it  had  yielded  a  little  to  lukewarmness  in  re- 
ligious discipline.  Indisputably  is  the  Ven.  Sister  M. 
Crescentia  to  be  considered  as  the  second  foundress  of  this 
community,  for  she  impressed  it  with  the  stamp  of  her 
own  spirit  and,  so  to  speak,  remodelled  it.  The  Coadjutor- 
bishop  of  Augsburg,  assuredly  a  competent  judge,  testifies 
to  the  excellent  standing  of  the  community  in  1782,  almost 
forty  years  after  her  death  ;  he  states:  "That  it  is  per- 
fectly entitled  to  be  called  the  most  prosperous  institution 
of  religious  piety  and  perfection,  wherein  the  least  thing 
that  offends  truth  and  conscience  can  find  no  admission." ' 

After  this  short  digression  we  will  turn  back  to  consider 
the  state  of  the  convent,  previous  to  the  entering  therein 
of  this  pious  virgin.  The  convent  had  not  only  to  suffer 
from  poverty,  but  also  from  arbitrary  and  exceptional 
laws  made  by  an  over-wise  magistrate  in  a  mean  and  exclu- 
sive spirit,  put  forth  ostensibly  for  the  common  good.  One 
of  these  ordinances  strictly  forbade  "that  any  real  es- 
tate be  made  over  to  the  convent,  whether  by  sale,  donation, 
or  otherwise."  a 

Now,  the  Sisters  had  scarcely  the  necessaries  of  life,  and 
certainly  had  not  the  means  to  purchase  superfluities,  to 
say  nothing  of  buying  real  estate  ;  nevertheless,  this  pro- 
hibition fell  heavily  upon  them,  because  it  prevented  them 
from  putting  a  stop  to  an  evil  that  had  become  almost  un- 
bearable. 

There  was  situated  near  the  convent  chapel  a  saloon  of  a 
low  character,  which,  with  its  infernal  carousings,  disturbed 

1  Positis  addit,  super  causa-  introductione,  p.  24.  *  Ott,  B.  I.  Ch.  2. 


3  2          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

the  Sisters  when  at  divine  pen irr,  both  day  and  night. 
There  was  no  other  way  of  getting  rid  of  this  nuisance 
than  that  of  buying  the  house;  but  this  had  hitherto  been 
impossible,  partly  because  the  Sisters  in  their  poverty  could 
not  compass  the  price,  partly  because  the  wise  (?)  aldermen 
of  the  city  council  had  inexorably  rejected  their  petition,  as 
an  encroachment  on  the  welfare  of  the  State.  We  shall. 
however,  soon  see  how  the  Lord  made  use  of  this  vexatious 
embarrassment  to  open  the  convent  doors  to  our  pious  Anna. 
The  Sisters  did  not  then,  as  they  do  now,  attend  to  the 
education  of  youth,  neither  did  they,  unless  in  exceptional 
cases,  minister  to  the  wants  of  the  sick.  Prayer  and  man- 
ual labor  formed  their  only  occupations.  Added  to  this  they 
did  not  observe  strict  enclosure,  and  were  not  under  the 
immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop,  but  like  so  many  other 
convents  of  those  times,  they  were  under  obedience  to  the 
Franciscan  Order,  and  more  immediately  under  that  of  the 
Provincial  of  the  province  of  Upper  Germany  (Provincia 
Argentina).  He  had  annually  to  perform  the  canonical 
visitation,  to  preside  at  the  election  to  office,  particularly  at 
that  of  the  Rev.  Mother,  and  to  decide  in  all  weighty  mat- 
ters, as  when  important  business  had  to  be  transacted  or 
abuses  abolished.  ' 

Yet  their  ordinary  confessors  were  not  from  the  Francis- 
can Order,  but,  up  to  the  year  1719,  from  the  secular  clergy; 
after  that  time,  when  the  Society  of  Jesus  had  established 
a  high  institute  of  learning  in  Kanfbeuren,  Fathers  of  that 
.  society  became  their  confessors." 

1  During  Crescentla's  time  the  following  Provincials  are  mentioned :  P.  Odortcus 
Sohnable  (1703) :  P.  Thomas  Baudrexel  (1707) ;  P.  Marcelllnus  Wedl ;  P.  Luche- 
sis  ;  P.  Sebastlanus  Hoss  (1721) ;  P.  QuintllianusWeez(1726) ;  P.  Kllianus  Katzen- 
berger ;  P.  Benjamin  Elbel  (1737),  the  well-known  moralist ;  and  P.  Bonifacius 
Schmidt,— at  the  time  of  her  death. 

*  The  following  confessors  to  the  convent  are  mentioned  in  Crescentla's  time : 
Dr.  Damlan  KQllestadt  (1704—1715) :  Rev.  Philip  James  Meichelbeck.  parish  priest 
of  Kemnath  for  two  years ;  Rev.  John  Picheln,  parish  priest  of  Oberbeuren.  From 
the  Society  of  Jesus :  P.  Ignatius  Lieb  (5  years);  P.  Ortulph  Lachner (6  years) ;  P. 
Ferdinand  Schitzinger  (1  year);  P.  Peter  Schneller  (1  year);  P.  Athanasius  Baler 
(1  year) ;  P.  Bartholomew  Sinner  (2  years) ;  P.  Joseph  Burger  (2  years) ;  P. 
Thomas  Faber  (2  years) :  P.  Michael  Bauer  (1  year);  P.  Januarius  Mayer  (2  years) : 
P.  John  Baptist  Pamer,-at  the  time  of  her  death.- Act  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  13. 5  19. 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff.  33 

The  reader  will  certainly  be  well  pleased  to  ascertain  what 
became  of  the  convent  after  the  death  of  Ven.  Crescentia. 
It  continued  to  flourish  remarkably  well  throughout  the 
last  century,  that  is,  the  eighteenth  century.  Two  of  her 
faithful  daughters  in  religion,  Mother  Joachim  Kogl  (1744- 
1769)  and  Mother  Rafael  Miller  up  to  1799,  presided  over 
the  Sisters  in  the  spirit  of  their  venerable  mistress.  They 
were  succeeded  by  Mother  Elizabeth  Ibel  up  to  1822.  She 
had  the  sorrow  of  witnessing  the  suppression  of  the  con- 
vent. In  the  universal  storm  which  broke  forth  against 
convents  this  lovely  place  of  prayer  and  virtue  was  not 
spared. 

In  the  year  1802  the  Sisters  were  forbidden  to  receive  nov- 
ices, all  their  possessions  were  confiscated,  innumerable  vo- 
tive tablets,  many  of  which  were  set  in  gold  and  silver,  were 
placed  on  wagons  and  carried  off,  and  the  Sisters  them- 
selves would  have  been  expelled  the  convent,  had  not  re- 
peated examinations  proved  that  the  accommodations  there- 
in were  too  poor  and  too  limited  in  extent  to  be  available 
for  State  purposes. 

As  not  one  of  the  Sisters  yielded  to  the  request  that  they 
should  return  to  the  world,  the  authorities,  who  seemed  to 
be  less  timid  or  more  tolerant  than  those  of  modern  times, 
finally  yielded  to  the  urgent  entreaties  of  the  Sisters  and 
allowed  them  to  live  together  in  the  same  house.  On  this, 
the  good  Sisters  continued  their  wonted  exercises  as  if 
nothing  had  happened,  relying  on  the  prophecy  of  Ven. 
Crescentia  that  the  convent  would  be  suppressed,  the  num- 
ber of  Sisters  be  reduced  to  a  very  few,  yet  not  entirely  die 
out,  but  on  the  contrary,  that  after  a  while  the  number  of 
Sisters  should  be  greater  than  in  her  own  time.  The  result 
fully  verified  the  truth  of  this  prophecy.  This  convent, 
doomed  to  die  out,  retained  life  till  the  year  1831,  through 
the  courageous  perseverance  of  the  Sisters  and  a  special  dis- 
pensation of  Providence.  Then  the  noble  King  Ludwig 
(1831)  granted  them  permission  to  receive  novices  on  con- 
dition that  they  devoted  themselves  to  the  education  of  the 


34          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

youth  of  the  female  sex.  At  that  time  there  were  six  Sis- 
ters living,  out  of  the  twenty  who  hud  witnessed  the  sup- 
pression of  the  convent  in  1802,  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  • 
Mother  M.  Francisca  Wiedeman  ;  she  was  the  last  of  the 
old  school  of  our  Ven.  Crescentia.  Sister  M.  Ignatia  Bogin 
did  not  die  till  Feb.  15,  1864.  Of  late  the  number  of  Sis- 
ters has  wonderfully  increased.  In  earlier  times  there  were 
never  more  than  twenty  Sisters  ;  at  the  present  time  there 
are  between  thirty  and  forty,  who  conduct  parochial  schools, 
a  school  in  a  manufacturing  district,  and  a  Normal  School 
for  ladies  preparing  to  become  teachers.  The  constant  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  novices  rendered  it  necessary  to 
build  additions  to  the  convent.  The  old  buildings  and  the 
Church,with  their  interior  arrangement,  have,  however,  been 
preserved  in  their  simple  and  poor  condition,  with  praise- 
worthy reverence  which  forbade  the  altering  anything  from 
the  state  in  which  it  was  when  the  servant  of  God  dwelt  there- 
in. Thus  the  whole  house  is  filled  with  the  fragrance  of 
the  reminiscences,  and  with  relics  of  this  blessed  spouse  of 
Christ.  The  Church  itself,  notwithstanding  its  lofty  steeple, 
is  of  low  pitch  and  of  small  dimensions,  and  should  rather 
be  called  a  chapel;  nevertheless,  it  contains  three  altars. 
The  choir  for  the  Sisters  is  built  over  the  whole  nave  of  the 
Church,  and  with  two  side  extensions  embraces  the  little 
sanctuary  with  a  small  main  altar.  This  choir  is  richly 
adorned  with  pious  pictures,  which  stimulate  devotion. 
This  was  the  very  sanctuary  in  which  the  Ven.  Crescentia 
spent  the  greater  part  of  her  earthly  life  ;  this  was  where 
she  received  most  of  the  marvellous  blessings  from  above. 
The  somewhat  strange  and  peculiar  kneeling-desks  enclosed 
by  curtains  date  from  olden  times.  The  one  occupied  by 
Crescentia,  when  Superioress,  is  still  adorned  with  her  pic- 
tures and  other  objects  of  devotion. 

Having  thus  described  the  field  of  our  future  narrative, 
we  turn  back  to  the  pious  virgin  herself.  The  conviction 
that  she  was  called  by  God  to  the  most  perfect  interior  and 
exterior  separation  from  the  world  and  to  the  state  of  giv- 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhojf.  3  5 

ing  her  entire  being  to  Christ  remained  unshaken,  and  at 
length  the  desire  to  attain  this  end  gave  her  no  rest,  and 
compelled  her  to  disclose  her  wish  to  her  beloved  father, 
that  he  might  help  her,  or  at  least  give  her  good  advice  as 
to  how  she  might  obtain  admission  into  the  cloister  of  the 
city. 

She  had,  however,  scarcely  uttered  her  petition,  than  she 
met  with  a  firm  resistance,  which  she  had  not  expected 
from  a  man  of  her  father's  extraordinary  piety.  He  op- 
posed her  most  resolutely  and  sought  every  means  to  make 
her  give  up  her  notion,  alleging  that  it  was  altogether  im- 
possible to  get  the  dower  necessary  to  procure  her  reception 
into  the  convent;  that  the  convent  itself  was  so  very  poor  and 
life  there  so  hard,  that  she  would  not  be  able  to  stand  it. 
It  would  be  much  better  and  easier  for  her  to  remain  at 
home  with  him,  leading  a  single  life  and  earning  her  bread 
by  the  work  of  her  hands. 

Her  good  father  proved  by  such  discourses  as  these, 
which  were  certainly  well-meant  excuses,  the  truth  of  the 
old  saying,  that  parents  are  rarely  good  counsellors,  when 
the  question  concerns  the  vocation  of  a  child  to  the  relig- 
ious state.  It  was  so  difficult  for  him  to  reconcile  him- 
self to  the  thought  of  being  separated  from  his  beloved 
daughter,  that  it  dimmed  the  light  of  faith  which  had  ever 
shone  so  brightly,  so  that  he  took  a  purely  human  view  of 
the  matter  and  consequently  went  astray  in  his  judgment. 
God's  thoughts  and  ways  were  quite  different,  and  conse- 
quently, this  virgin,  who  was  guided  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life  Could  not  acquiesce  in  her  fath- 
er's decision.  Her  resolution  held  firm  and  the  hope  she 
cherished  that  God  would  assist  her  was  not  to  be  shaken. 
When  her  repeated  petitions  had  no  effect  in  inducing  her 
father  to  permit  her  to  make  the  trial  of  her  vocation  to 
the  religious  life,  she  went  herself  to  the  Superioress  of 
the  convent,  Eev.  Mother  M.  Teresa  Schmid,  and  with 
humble  gestures  and  a  beating  heart  prayed  for  ad- 
mission. It  turned  out  as  her  father  had  foretold  ;  she 


36          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

was  refused,  on  the  ground  that  the  convent  was  too  poor 
and  dared  not  receive  a  young  woman  without  a  dower. 
She  repeated  her  request  many  times,  but  without  any  other 
result.  '•'  For  one  or  two  years,"  says  her  confessor,  John 
Baptist  Pamer,  '  "  her  entreaties  were  in  vain  ;  even  tears 
that  might  have  melted  a  stone  were  unheeded  by  men." 

Nevertheless,  the  resolute  virgin,  hoping  against  hope, 
relied  on  the  all-powerful  arm  of  God,  to  whom  that  is 
possible  which  is  impossible  to  man.  She  redoubled  her 
ardent  prayers  for  the  help  of  God,  and  brought  into 
exercise  that  faith  which,  according  to  the  words  of 
Holy  Writ,  can  remove  mountains  of  difficulties.  This 
heroic  hope  could  not,  therefore,  be  confounded ;  and 
meanwhile  it  pleased  the  heavenly  Father  to  console  His 
child  even  in  a  miraculous  manner.  In  the  dormitory  of 
the  Sisters,  near  the  entrance  to  the  oratory,  was  a  crucifix, 
which  is  still  to  be  seen  there.  When  passing  this  the  pious 
Anna  knelt  down  before  it  and  prayed  with  a  heavy  heart 
that  the  Lord  would  grant  her  the  favor  she  desired.  She 
distinctly  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  image  these  words  : 
"  Here  shall  be  your  dwelling-place."1  Another  circumr 
stance  is  added  by  many  witnesses,*  which  is,  perhaps,  the 
only  one  of  its  kind,  and  which  the  thoroughly  trustworthy 
witness,  Sister  M.  Gabriel  Merz,4  relates  in  the  following 
words  :  "  This  image  of  the  Crucified  One  previously  had 
its  mouth  closed,  as  all  the  other  Sisters  saw  with  their  own 
eyes,  and  told  me  and  my  fellow-Sisters  of  it  ;  but  from 
the  moment  it  spoke  these  words  to  Crescentia  it  remained 
open,  as  any  one  may  see  at  the  present  day,  where  it  hangs 
in  the  same  place  as  it  did  then."  Even  now  that  crucifix 
may  be  seen,  having  that  remarkable  peculiarity,  as  if, 
with  wide-open  mouth,  it  would  tell  something  to  the  be- 
holder. 

This  change  in  the  crucifix  naturally  gave  rise  to  much 
wonder  and  gossip  among  the  Sisters;  but  no  one  suspected 

1  Act  B.  Suinm.  Add.  p.  6.  *  sumui.  N.  6  passim. 

»  Ibid,  t  5,  {  53  passim.  '  Ibid,  fi  4. 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff.  37 

how  it  had  come  to  pass.  It  was  not  till  many  years  later, 
when  the  virtue  of  the  servant  of  God  had  been  put  to  the 
test,  that  it  occurred  to  the  afore-named  distinguished 
Mother  M.  Johanna  Altweger  to  ask  Crescentia  about  it. 
Crescentia  blushed,  and  compelled  by  obedience,  related 
the  whole  occurrence,  which  the  Superioress  communicated 
to  many  other  witnesses. 

Crescentia,  meanwhile,  though  consoled  in  so  miraculous 
a  manner,  did  not  even  reveal  it  to  her  father  ;  she  simply 
said  to  him  : '  "  Father,  I  really  believe  and  hope  for  cer- 
tain that  I  shall  enter  the  convent  here."  But  her  fath- 
er rebuked  her  with  these  words  :  "  Child,  what  are  you  talk- 
ing about  ?  What  are  you  fancying  ?  You  know  how 
poor  we  are  ;  don't  cherish  such  a  thought  as  that,  while 
you  live.  I  can  give  you  nothing,  and  without  temporal 
means  they  will  not  take  you."  Crescentia,  however,  con- 
tinued quietly  yet  confidently  to  await  the  hour  when  God 
would  open  for  her  the  convent  doors. 

Meanwhile,  the  news  that  the  "pious  Annerl"  had 
been  rejected  by  the  Superioress  spread  through  the  city. 
The  veneration  and  love  with  which  the  maiden  was  re- 
garded were  such  that  all  blamed  the  Superioress  in  the 
severest  manner  :  "  Such  an  angel  would  be  an  ornament  to 
the  convent,"  was  the  universal  conviction  ;  even  Protes- 
tants joined  in  blaming  the  Mother  who  had  refused  her. 
Divine  Providence  had,  however,  already  paved  the  way 
for  her  reception,  and  for  this  purpose  made  use  of  a  Pro- 
testant, namely,  of  Matthias  Worle,  of  Wohrburg,  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Kaufbeuren.  He  was  the  instrument  by  which 
God  willed  to  deliver  the  convent  from  a  long-felt  and 
much  deplored  nuisance,  and  at  the  same  time  confer  a 
rich,  though  as  yet  unprized,  treasure.  The  good  man  did 
not  suffer  difference  of  religious  creed  to  hinder  him  from 
seeing  the  great  injustice  suffered  by  the  convent,  in  the  city 
not  permitting  the  removal  of  the  saloon  which  caused 
such  disturbance  during  the  religious  exercises.  He  argued 

1  Gabriel,  p.  10. 


38          The  Life  of  V'cn.  Mary  Crescentia. 

the  matter  in  favor  of  the  convent,  before  the  city  council, 
in  so  forcible  a  manner,  that  the  council  unanimously 
agreed  to  buy  the  said  saloon  at  the  moderate  price  asked 
for  it  and  give  it  to  the  Sisters.  By  this  great  service 
he  earned  a  title  to  their  gratitude,  and  insured  a  respect- 
ful attention  to  his  wishes. 

Now,  he  had  known  and  admired  the  pious  but  poor 
Anna  from  childhood  upwards,  and  had  heard  with  regret 
that  she  had  been  refused  admittance.  He  at  once  resolved 
to  use  all  his  influence  in  her  favor.  Without  the  knowl- 
edge either  of  the  young  woman  or  of  her  parents,  he  went 
to  the  Superioress  and  represented  to  her  and  to  the  com- 
munity that  they  should  not  reject  the  incomparable  Anna 
Hoss,  who,  as  he  had  heard,  had  applied  for  admission  and 
been  refused,  "  For  though  poor  in  earthly  possessions,  she 
was  rich  in  virtue  ;  and,"  he  added,  "  it  were  a  pity  for  so 
innocent  an  angel  to  remain  in  the  world." 

All  objections  naturally  vanished  before  so  influential  a 
patron,  especially  when  this  same  gentleman  applied  to 
the  Father  Provincial,  Odoricus  Schnabel,  who  happened  to 
be  present,  and  reiterated  his  recommendation.  Father 
Odoricus  immediately  sent  for  Anna,  who  suspected  noth- 
ing of  what  had  passed,  and  he  conceived  so  high  an 
opinion  of  her  virtue  that  he  insisted  with  decision  that 
she  should  be  received  immediately  and  without  dower. 

The  prescribed  voting  of  the  community  then  took  place, 
and  on  the  5th  of  June,  1703,  it  was  unanimously  resolved 
that  the  pious  Anna  should  be  permitted  to  enter  on  her 
novitiate.  Her  long-cherished  desires  were  thus  fulfilled, 
her  persevering  prayers  were  thus  answered  in  a  manner 
and  at  a  time  when  no  one  could  have  imagined  or  expect- 
ed it.  This  was  truly  the  work  of  Divine  Providence  ;  it  is 
the  prerogative  of  the  Supreme  Ruler,  the  highest  King,  to 
come  to  the  rescue  when  human  wisdom  is  at  a  loss  what 
to  do,  and  to  open  a  door  where  the  mortal  eye  sees  but  an 
impenetrable,  insurmountable  wall. 

The  joy  of  the  good  maiden  surpasses  expression  ;  all 


The  Convent  of  Mayrhoff.  39 

who  knew  her  shared  her  satisfaction,  especially  the  good 
mayor.  Her  happiness  was  the  greater  because  her  actual 
admission  was  to  take  place  in  eleven  days.  On  the  16th  of 
June,  when  she  was  twenty  years  and  nine  months  old,  she 
left  her  father's  house,  that  home  which,  under  the  loving 
eyes  of  pious  parents,  had  always  been  to  her  a  place  of 
peace,  of  innocence,  and  of  tranquil  happiness. 

She  followed  the  call  of  the  Crucified  One,  who  deeply  in 
her  heart  had  impressed  the  words  :  "  Every  one  of  you 
that  doth  not  renounce  all  that  he  possesseth,  cannot  be  my 
disciple." ' 

It  is  probable  that  some  regret  might  have  mingled  with 
her  joy  as  she  left  her  beloved  home  and  its  cherished  in- 
mates, and  perhaps  her  heart  was  beating  when  she  passed 
through  the  convent  portals,  and  was  anticipating  what 
weal  or  woe,  what  struggle  and  victory,  she  might  meet  in 
this  new  arena  of  her  life.  By  a  special  privilege  never 
before  or  since  granted  to  any  other  Sister,  the  customary 
days  of  preparation  were  remitted  ;  she  received  the  habit 
on  the  very  next  day.  At  the  direction  of  the  Father 
Provincial  this  ceremony  was  performed  by  Father  Francis 
Imhoff,  0.  S.  F.,  guardian  of  the  Friars  Minor  at  Augsburg. 

A  new  period  was  now  opened  in  her  life  ;  she  had  com- 
menced to  walk  on  that  road  of  the  Cross  which  was  to 
lead  her  to  the  summit  of  the  purest  and  holiest  love,  the 
love  in  which  human  affection  is  transfigured  in  the  di- 
vine. The  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  which  had  guided  her  from 
youth  upwards,  which  "  reacheth  from  end  to  end  mightily, 
and  ordereth  all  things  sweetly,"2  continued  to  conduct 
her  with  marvellous  firmness  from  step  to  step,  and  trans- 
formed all  obstacles  into  rounds  of  the  golden  ladder  that 
leads  up  to  Christ  Himself. 

0  Christian  soul,  learn  from  Ven.  Crescentia  always  to 
follow  the  indications  of  Providence  ;  accomplish  what  the 
Psalmist  says  :  "  Commit  thy  way  to  the  Lord  and  trust 
in  Him  :  and  He  will  do  it."3 

1  Luke  xiv.  33.  -  Wisdom  viii.  I.  3  Psalms  xxxvi.  5. 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Year  of  Probation.1 

|8  soon  as  the  servant  of  Christ  had  been  clothed 
with  the  penitential  habit  of  St.  Francis,  she 
forgot  what  lay  behind  her  and  for  the  future 
strove  only  for  the  sublimest  perfection  of  pure  love  of 
the  Cross,  to  acquire  which  she  considered  her  only  mission 
on  earth,  a  possession  compared  to  which  she  considered 
everything  pleasing  to  the  mere  human  sense  as  dross 
or  refuse.  She  was  so  utterly  a  stranger  to  self-complacency 
that  she  viewed  her  past  life  as  a  simple  aberration,  or 
even  as  a  resistance  to  the  divine  will,  and  resolved  to  atone 
for  it  by  the  practise  of  severe  penance. 

For  the  Lord  had  sent  a  ray  of  light  into  her  soul,  which 
disclosed  to  her  the  truth  of  the  nothingness  of  all  earthly 
things,  and  the  misery  and  sinfulness  of  the  human  soul 
fallen  in  Adam.  At  the  same  time  He  excited  within  her 
an  insatiable  hunger  after  justice,  so  that  she  thirsted  after 
the  living  God,  as  the  "hart  panteth  for  the  fountains  of 
water."  The  following  fragment  of  her  resolutions  will 
show  the  spirit  with  which  she  entered  on  her  task;  these 
resolutions  were  written  down  some  years  later,  but  they 
will,  nevertheless,  be  a  true  expression  of  her  aim  at  the 
time  she  commenced  her  religious  life. 

"  0  Jesus,  most  loving  Ruler  of  all  things,  I  know  that 
all  my  happiness  comes  from  Thee  alone,  and  I  fully 
understand  that  I  must  not,  even  for  a  moment,  depart 
from  Thee.  Therefore,  may  it  please  Thee,  0  my  God, 
that  I  make  this  covenant  with  Thee  :  even  as  I  draw 
breath  every  moment,  so  do  I  desire  that  not  one  instant 
should  pass,  in  which  I  do  not  love,  praise,  and  adore  Thee. 
I  desire  every  moment  to  be  inflamed  with  ardor  for  Thy 
divine  honor,  and  for  the  salvation  of  souls  ;  I  desire  to 
honor  Thee,  to  subject  myself  to  Thee,  to  atone  for  my 

1  Suimn    N.  6. 


The  Year  of  Probation.  41 

sins,  to  love  my  neighbor,  and  to  imitate  Thy  humility, 
poverty,  chastity,  and  obedience,  and  by  constant  prayer  for 
these  graces,  to  keep  myself  ever  near  to  Thee.  In  attesta- 
tion of  this,  I  acknowledge,  with  the  most  humble  sub- 
jection, in  the  presence  of  Thy  divine  Majesty,  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  and  of  the  whole  court  of  Heaven,  that  this 
is  my  will,  purpose,  and  earnest  resolution,  which  do 
Thou,  0  Lord,  my  God,  deign  to  accept,  now  and  forever, 
and  confirm  with  the  seal  of  Thy  divine  grace  for  all 
eternity. " 

Even  as  a  novice  she  put  into  practice  what  she  wrote 
down  in  the  year  1721  :  '  "  In  following  my  King,  I  will 
courageously  take  in  hand  the  sword  of  the  love  of  God, 
and  in  full  trust  in  that  love,  hoping  for  His  all-powerful 
aid  in  the  assaults  and  temptations  of  the  evil  one  and  in 
all  the  adverse  circumstances  of  life,  I  will  in  His  name, 
under  which  I  have  enlisted,  fight  for  my  King,  suffer, 
struggle,  and  contend,  and  by  His  grace,  conquer ;  and  all 
this  with  no  other  purpose  in  view,  save  that  my  Omnipo- 
tent King  be  honored  and  loved." 

These  resolutions  did  not  remain  mere  wishes  and  un- 
fruitful attempts;  they  were  immediately  put  into  practice 
with  so  great  fidelity  and  to  such  a  degree,  that  the  most 
fervent  of  the  Sisters  were  far  behind  our  novice  in  zeal. 
Her  resolutions  show  that  she  was  principally  intent  on 
building  up  the  interior  life  according  to  the  principles  of 
a  genuine  asceticism.  These  resolutions  principally  refer 
to  the  purification  of  the  soul  by  the  extirpation  of  the 
slightest  evil  inclination  ;  to  the  entire  subjection  of  one's 
own  will  to  that  of  God  ;  to  putting  all  lukewarmness  to 
flight;  to  attaining  peace  of  mind,  love  of  one's  enemy,  love 
of  the  Cross,  obedience  to  superiors  and  confessors,  and  es- 
pecially to  interior  recollection.  All  these  virtues,  but  es- 
pecially those  of  humility,  obedience,  of  unshaken  peace  and 
serenity  amid  the  severest  sufferings,  manifested  them- 
selves in  so  exalted  a  form  from  the  very  commencement 

1  Kolb,  p.  11. 


42          The  Life  of  Veil.  Mary  Crescentia. 

of  her  religious  life,  that  the  eyes  of  all  who  were  connected 
with  her  were  attracted  towards  her,  whether  for  or  against 
her.  But  she,  herself,  was  occupied  only  with  the  "  sweet 
guest  of  her  heart "  and  her  only  struggle  was  to  subdue 
any  emotion  that  might  disturb  her  inward  peace  and  to 
accept  with  love  every  cross  as  a  messenger  from  Heaven. 
Two  resolutions,  from  the  year  1718,  may  serve  to  illustrate 
the  sentiments  of  her  heart:  ' 

"I  will  cherish  interior  peace,  that  I  may  hear  and  un- 
derstand what  the  Holy  Ghost  speaks  to  me  ;  and  when 
my  passions  and  cares  make  themselves  heard  within  me, 
as  soon  as  I  perceive  their  voice,  I  will  tell  them  to  '  keep 
silent,'  while  with  Samuel  I  say  :  '  Speak,  Lord,  for  Thy 
servant  heareth.' ' 

Under  the  title  of  "  love  of  the  Cross"  she  says  :  "  0 
my  dearly  loved  Father,  if  Thou,  in  Thine  infinite  good- 
ness, wilt  give  me  a  little  cross,  I  would  rejoice  out  of  pure 
love  for  Thee,  that  Thou  deignest  to  be  mindful  of  Thy 
unworthy  child." 

Yes,  indeed,  her  beloved  Father  in  Heaven  was  mindful 
of  her  ;  He  who  had  enkindled  within  her  these  pious 
desires,  also  made  provision  that  exterior  circumstances 
should  correspond  with  the  interior  longing  and  strong 
impulse  of  her  soul.  He  cast  His  beloved  child  into  the 
crucible  of  painful  trials  and  of  unjust  persecutions,  that 
the  pure  gold  of  grace  might  be  separated  from  the  dross 
of  nature,  which  the  eye  of  God  alone  could  perceive  ;  that 
the  purified  gold  might  daily  increase  through  heroic  acts 
of  humility,  of  obedience,  of  love  of  enemies  ;  that  the 
work  might  be  brought  by  endurance  to  perfection,  and 
that  the  golden  ladder  to  Heaven  might  be  erected  on  the 
foundation-stone  of  patience,  as  St.  Paul  describes  in  these 
words  :  "  We  glory  also  in  tribulations  :  knowing  that  trib- 
ulation worketh  patience,  and  patience  trial,  and  trial 
hope,  and  hope  confoundeth  not,  because  the  charity  of 
God  is  poured  forth  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  \vh<> 

1  Kolb,  p.  2. 


The  Year  of  Probation.  43 

is  given  to  us."1  There  is  nothing  that  could  give  us  a 
clearer  proof  of  the  height  of  virtue  which  she  had  already 
attained,  than  the  measure  of  the  sufferings  which  God 
permitted  to  be  meted  out  to  her  in  the  very  beginning  of 
her  religious  life ;  it  far  surpasses  ordinary  occurrences. 
And  she  had  to  bear  this  heavy  cross  upwards  of  four  years, 
without  human  aid,  alone,  forsaken,  and  forgotten.  And 
she  did  bear  it,  not  only  without  a  murmur,  complaint,  or 
wavering,  but  with  joy  and  gratitude.  Hard,  nay,  fear- 
fully unjust  treatment  from  hsr  companions,  terrible, 
hardly  credible  temptations  and  assaults  from  the  devil, 
were  means  in  the  hand  of  God  to  cleanse  her  more  and 
more  from  the  dust  of  human  misery.  We  begin  in  this 
chapter  to  narrate  the  process  of  this  purification,  by  re- 
lating how  hardly  she  was  treated  by  her  fellow-beings. 
And  that  nobody  may  be  scandalized  by  what  we  have  to 
tell,  we  premise  a  few  remarks,  to  afford  the  reader  a 
right  point  of  view,  when  he  has  to  consider  these  and 
similar  occurrences  in  the  lives  of  the  Saints. 

It  is  the  unanimous  teaching  of  all  the  masters  of  spirit- 
ual life,  who  have  written  on  the  Mystical  State,  *  that  all 
souls  who  are  called  to  the  higher  degrees  of  prayer,  and 
to  the  mystical  union  with  God  Himself,  must  pass  several 
stages  of  the  so-called  passive  purification  by  suffering. 
Among  these  stages  the  passive  purification  of  the  sensitive 
part  of  the  soul,  termed  by  that  great  master  of  mystics, 
St.  John  of  the  Cross,  "  the  dark  night  of  the  senses,"  is  es- 
pecially to  be  considered.  During  the  time  that  this  purifi- 
cation is  going  on,  contradiction,  contempt,  calumny,  and 
unjust  persecution  are  regularly  poured  over  the  soul  in  a 
thousand  different  forms,  with  the  violence  of  roaring 
mountain  streams;  added  to  which,  God  Himself  often  so 
orders  it  that  this  persecution  arises  from  one's  near  neigh- 
bors, well-intentioned  persons,  sometimes  even  from  mod- 
erately saintly  persons,  which  latter  circumstance  adds  a 

1  Rom.  v.  3-5. 

2  Comp.  Thomas  a  Jesu.  De  Oratione  Divinae.— L.  ii.  c.  xi.  15:  Schram,  Institu- 
tiones.    Theolog.  Mystlcse.— P.  l.  188  seq. 


44          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

deep,  cutting  pang  to  the  soul.  Let  us  listen  to  an  experi- 
enced man  of  the  olden  time,  who  belonged  to  the  Order 
of  St.  Francis  ; '  he  suys  on  this  subject :  "  I  say  in  truth 
that  before  God  would  leave  a  soul  which  lie  has  selected 
and  set  apart  in  special  love,  without  such  a  preparation, 
He  would  take  occasion  to  permit  a  hundred  thousand  men 
to  do  some  injury  to  this  soul,  or  close  the  interior  eyes  of 
a  thousand  Saints,  so  that  by  their  severe,  yet  false,  judg- 
ments, they  might  purify  and  polish  this  vessel  of  the 
elect. " 

The  lives  of  the  Saints  bear  ample  testimony  to  the  truth 
of  this  assertion.  Just  think  of  St.  Elizabeth  of  Thur- 
ingia,  against  whom  her  nearest  friends,  and  some  of  them 
far  from  ignoble,  permitted  themselves  to  use  expressions 
which  seem  almost  incredible  from  their  harshness  ;  of 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi,  who  was  ill  treated  by  his  own 
father  in  the  presence  of  the  bishop ;  of  St.  Catherine  of 
Sienna,  who  had  to  do  the  work  of  a  hired  girl  in  the  house 
of  her  parents  ;  of  St.  Peter  Damian  who,  as  Baronius 
relates  (1049),  had  to  suffer  injustice  from  the  holy 
but  deceived  Pope  Leo  IX.  ;  of  St.  Alphonsus  Liguori, 
and  many  others  who  verify  the  words  of  St.  Paul  : 
"All  that  will  live  godly  in  Christ  Jesus,  shall  suffer  per- 
secution."2 

These  observations  should  make  every  one  careful  in 
regard  to  judging  others,  particularly  holy  persons,  and  at 
the  same  time  lenient  in  reference  to  those  who,  for  want 
of  this  precaution,  have  maltreated  saintly  souls.  The 
words  of  our  Lord,  "They  know  not  what  they  do,"  are 
sometimes  very  applicable  to  them.  This  was  very  proba- 
bly the  case  with  the  most  of  those  who  persecuted  our  nov- 
ice. They  afterwards  acknowledged  their  mistake  ;  it  was 
as  if  a  veil  had  been  withdrawn  from  their  eyes  ;  so  much 
so  that  they,  declaring  that  their  blindness  had  been  in- 
comprehensible, made  public  reparation.1 

1  Heuricus  Harphius.  Theologria  Mystica.-  L.  11.  c.  11. 
*  II.  Tim.  ill-  12.  *  Act  B.  Defenslo,  X.  7.'. 


The  Year  of  Probation.  45 

The  Father  of  mercies,  however,  prepared  His  child  for 
these  sufferings  by  a  vision.1  She  saw  her  Redeemer  com- 
ing out  of  the  room  of  the  Mother  Superior,  Sister  Theresa 
Schmid,  carrying  a  heavy  cross  on  His  shoulders.  She 
knew  at  once  that  this  cross  was  to  be  her  portion  and 
that  her  Superioress  would  be  the  instrument  by  which 
God  would  send  suffering  to  her.  So,  in  fact,  it  came 
to  pass  :  the  character  of  the  Superioress  made  this 
cross  heavier  than  might  be  expected.  She  was  born 
in  Munich,  1670,  the  daughter  of  the  physician  to  the 
Elector.  She  had  been  elected  to  office  as  Mother  Su- 
perior in  1698  ;  but  it  seems  as  if  at  her  election  more 
attention  had  been  paid  to  her  exterior  qualifications  and 
to  her  connections,  than  to  her  virtues  ;  for  it  soon  be- 
came manifest  that  she  was  utterly  unfitted  for  the  office, 
and  disorder  soon  assumed  such  a  shape,  that  the  Supe- 
riors found  themselves  obliged,  in  the  year  1707,  to  proceed 
to  a  formal  deposition,  as  she  had  been  elected  for  life,  ac- 
cording to  the  ancient  custom  of  the  convent.  And  we 
may  here  mention  that  this  deposition,  or  removal  from 
office,  is  the  only  one  in  the  records  of  that  convent,  though 
they  embrace  several  centuries  ;  also,  that  the  name  of 
Theresa  Schmid  is  not  found  in  the  catalogue  of  Mother 
Superiors  preserved  in  their  archives.  This  Superioress 
could  not  fail  to  have  some  Sisters  on  her  side  to  join 
in  this  persecution  ;  among  these  one  old  Sister  Anthony 
is  particularly  mentioned,  with  four  or  five  others. 

The  proximate  exterior  cause  for  the  harshness  of  the 
Mother  Superior,  lay  probably  in  the  fact  that  she  had  been 
urged  to  receive  this  poor  young  woman,  without  a  dowry, 
and  in  opposition  to  her  own  previous  decisions.  It  might 
be  that  she  considered  this  reception  a  wrong  inflicted  on 
the  community.  Hence  the  antipathy  of  the  Superioress, 
which  vented  itself  in  upbraiding  the  poor  child  with  the 
injustice  which  she  (Crescentia)  had  committed  by  enter- 
ing the  convent.  This  blindness  very  soon  increased  to 

1  Actli.  Siimm.  (•!..).  N.  II.  «i». 


46  The  Life  of  Vcn.  Mary  Crescentia. 

that  degree,  that  she  held  herself  justified  iu  treating  the 
poor  novice  so  badly  that  it  might  induce  her  to  leave  of 
her  own  accord.  Perhaps  she  believed  she  was  thus  doing 
a  service  to  God  and  the  cloister,  when  she  treated 
the  innocent  girl,  not  like  a  fellow-Sister,  but  like  a 
slave. 

To  this  may  be  added  the  very  singular  conduct  of  the 
Ven.  Crescentia,  whose  ideas  on  spiritual  life  were  far  in 
advance  of  the  somewhat  circumscribed  notions  of  her 
persecutors  and  to  those  already  prejudiced  against  her, 
might  possibly  give  occasion  for  false  interpretation  and 
rash  judgment.  This  could  less  easily  be  avoided  because 
of  those  strange  influences  and  assaults  of  the  devil  which 
very  soon  took  place,  and  of  which  we  will  speak  in  the 
next  chapter.  In  the  kitchen,  in  which  she  had  to  help, 
strange  disturbances  and  accidents  frequently  occurred:  the 
yeast  was  upset,  the  fire  would  go  out,  dishes  were  broken, 
and  all  this  under  such  circumstances  that  the  servant  of 
God  was  sometimes  accused  of  awkwardness,  sometimes  of 
wickedness,  and  sometimes  of  being  possessed  ;  so  that 
the  Sisters  believed  that  she  must,  in  one  way  or  another, 
be  compelled  to  leave  the  convent. 

Envy  and  jealousy,  \iceswhichsoeasily  enter  the  human 
heart,  particularly  that  of  the  female  sex,  may  have 
concurred  in  producing  this  effect  ;  and  the  custom  in 
vogue  among  half-pious  people  of  measuring  everybody 
by  their  own  standard  and  of  sitting  in  judgment  to  con- 
demn those  who  do  more  than  themselves,  may  have  con- 
firmed them  in  their  perverseness. 

Sources  as  foul  as  these  gave  rise  to  the  vilest  judgments, 
to  the  most  uncharitable  accusations,  and  finally,  occa- 
sioned Crescentia  to  be  very  harshly,  even  cruelly,  treated. 
Even  the  most  innocent  of  her  actions  were  distorted 
and  a  wrong  interpretation  set  upon  them,  while  her  vir- 
tues were  converted  into  faults.  Her  kindness  and  will- 
ingness to  help  appeared  to  the  blinded  eyes  of  her  enemies 
as  hypocrisy  and  a  desire  of  pleasing  ;  her  patient  silence 


The  Year  of  Probation.  47 

at  unjust  accusations  was  ascribed  to  stubbornness,  or  want 
of  feeling  ;  her  piety  was  assumed;  she  never  could  do  any- 
thing right  ;  the  Superioress  treated  her  only  to  wry  faces 
and  harsh  words;  reprimands,  false  accusations,  and  severe 
penances  were  her  daily  portion.  She  was  accused  before 
her  confessor,  nay,  before  the  Father  Provincial,  of  faults 
of  which  she  was  entirely  free  ;  as,  for  instance,  of  not  ob- 
serving the  prescribed  silence  ;  she  who  was  the  most 
silent  of  the  whole  cloister;  she  who  never  spoke,  save  in 
reply. 

The  hardest  and  most  menial  works,  such  as  were  usual- 
ly performed  by  hired  servants,  were  assigned  to  her,  with- 
out regard  to  her  weakness,  and  indeed,  so  much  was  re- 
quired of  her  that  she  could  scarcely  perform  it  all,  no 
matter  how  hard  she  tried.  She  was  seldom  admitted  to 
table  with  the  community,  but  had  to  be  contented  with 
the  remnants  of  food  left  on  the  dishes ;  often  with  musty 
black  bread,  stale  beer,  or  with  water.  Even  this  poor 
diet  was  given  in  such  a  small  quantity  that  she  was  fear- 
fully tormented  by  hunger  while  at  her  hard  work.  The 
Mistress  of  Novices  often  wept  for  her  in  compassion,  and 
at  times  helped  her  by  stealthily  giving  her  a  piece  of 
bread.1 

Her  greatest  trial,  however,  was  that  the  obdurate  Supe- 
rioress often  commanded  the  obedient  child  to  do  silly  and 
ridiculous  things,  which  were  extremely  painful  to  her  ten- 
der modesty.  Even  before  strangers  the  novice,  in  a  com- 
ical dress,  had  to  perform  all  kinds  of  nonsensical  fooleries 
and  tricks.  Blind  obedience  heroically  conquered  the  nat- 
ural repugnance  she  felt  to  such  performances  ;  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  she  was  summoned  before  the  whole 
community,  sharply  rebuked,  and  punished  for  what  she 
had  done  from  simple  obedience.  The  humble  maiden 
confessed  her  fault  on  her  knees,  and  uttered  no  word  save 
that  of  thanks  for  the  maternal  correction.  Such  unwor- 
thy treatment  as  this  was  many  times  repeated,  and  the 

1  Summ.  N.  15.  §  36. 


48          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcscentia. 

heroic  novice  never  wavered  or  hesitated  a  moment,  first 
to  expose  herself  with  a  kind  countenance  to  the  laughter 
and  derision  of  strangers  and  then  to  submit  to  the  most 
severe  reproaches  and  corrections.  This  conduct  at  length 
became  too  outrageous  to  be  endured  by  the  other  Sisters  ; 
they  advised  the  novice  who  was  so  miserably  used  to  re- 
sist any  command  to  perform  such  fooleries,  assuring  her 
that  obedience  did  not  require  such  things  as  that  of  her.1 
She  answered  in  a  cheerful  tone  :  "  Oh,  my  beloved  Sis- 
ters, holy  obedience  alone  suffices  me.  Contempt,  dis- 
grace, and  ridicule  are  all  welcome  to  me,  if  only  I  can  be 
obedient.  In  this  I  find  God,  and  in  God  all  ;  what  else 
can  I  wish  or  desire,  when  I  possess  God  ?  " 9 

The  heart  of  this  pious  virgin,  accustomed,  up  to  that 
time,  to  the  kindest  and  most  considerate  treatment,  could 
hardly  help  feeling  deeply  the  pressure  of  her  present  posi- 
tion ;  but  she  was  already  confirmed  in  a  life  of  faith,  so 
mortified  in  her  feelings,  so  filled  with  the  desire  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  sufferings  and  disgrace  of  Christ,  that  she 
never  wavered  an  instant,  never  was  sad  or  confused.  Her 
soul  stood  as  firmly  as  granite  amid  the  rush  of  the  waves, 
for  her  hope  was  placed  on  her  heavenly  Father,  and  all 
her  love  was  enclosed  in  the  heart  of  Jesus.  Many  witness- 
es assert  that  never  a  word  of  complaint  passed  her  lips, 
never  did  she  defend  herself,  never  did  she  resist.  Neither 
did  she  ever  doubt  her  vocation,  and  what  is  still  more  re- 
markable, her  countenance  never  lost  its  expression  of 
peace  or  of  interior  serenity.  The  greater  that  the  press- 
ure from  without  became,  the  more  her  soul  was  directed 
to  the  interior  life,  and  blossomed  like  a  lily  among  thorns, 
constantly  increasing  in  beauty,  and  shedding  around  her, 
far  and  wide,  the  fragrance  of  humility,  patience,  and  love 
of  her  enemies.  If  others  complained  of  the  unjust 
treatment  she  received,  which  they  could  not  see  without 
compassion,  she  excused  everything,  said  that  she  was 
leniently  dealt  with,  and  that  everything  was  done  with  a 

1  Shinni.  N.  15.  £  03,  8  50,  S  99.  "  Gabriel,  p..!8C. 


The  Year  of  Probation.  49 

good  intention.  She  gave  thanks  for  the  meagre  nourish-, 
ment  she  received  as  for  an  unmerited  alms  ;.  she  requited 
evil  with  good,  especially  by  praying  day  and  night  for  the 
chief  instrument  of  her  persecution,  and  these  prayers  she 
continued  unceasingly  for  many  years  after  another.  Supe- 
rioress had  been  elected.  Thus  she,  as  St.  Paul  recom- 
mends, overcame  evil  by  good.  God  rewarded  her  fidelity 
by  granting  her  great  graces,  and  by  assisting  her  in  other 
more  dangerous  temptations,  in  which  the  devil,  under 
the  mask  of  an  angel  of  light,  sought  to  withdraw  her 
from  her  vocation. 

She  had  a  very  great  love  for  her  father,  and  from 
this  affection  the  devil  sought  to  spin  a  web,  by  means  of 
which  he  could  withdraw  her  from  the  convent.  He 
brought  vividly  before  her  mind  how  unhappy  her  father 
had  been  rendered  by  her  absence;  he  made  her  reflect  on 
the  great  happiness  which  she  had  enjoyed  at  home,  and 
what  a  hard  life,  full  of  disgrace,  she  was  leading  at  the 
convent.  She  answered  all  the  evil  suggestions  in  words  of 
her  wonted  faith  :  "  Who  is  like  unto  God  ?  I  am  pre- 
pared, nay,  I  wish  to  suffer  harder  things." 

It  was  thus,  with  the  shield  of  faith,  that  she  repelled  the 
fiery  darts  of  the  enemy.  Thereupon  the  old  serpent  es- 
sayed to  deceive  her  by  delusive  representations,  which,  by 
permission  of  God,  he  produced  before  her.  Twice  he  ap- 
peared before  her  in  the  figure  of  her  younger  sister, 
Regina,  telling  her,  in  most  moving  words,  that  their 
parents  were  constantly  weeping  and  lamenting  in  the 
home  she  had  abandoned ;  that  they  could  not  get  along 
without  her,  and  insisted  on  her  returning  to  them  ;  it  was 
the  urgent  duty  of  a  child  to  assist  her  parents  and  she 
could  certainly  live  more  piously  and  more  peacefully  at 
home  than  at  the  convent,  where  she  found  nothing  but 
work,  want,  and  persecution.  Her  father  could  not  endure 
her  absence  any  longer;  he  had  sent  her  on  and  he  was 
waiting  at  the  convent-gate  to  conduct  her  home.  Then 
the  supposed  sister  at  one  time  showed  her  the  key  of  the 


5O  The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

convent  portal,  and  at  another  secular  dresses  she  had 
brought  for  her  use.  In  this  dangerous  struggle  the  op- 
pressed maiden  raised  her  heart  to  God,  made  the  sign  of 
the  cross  and  invoked  the  holy  names  of  Jesus  and  Mary  ; 
then,  being  immediately  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
she  said  :  "I  did  not  come  to  the  convent  for  thy  sake, 
and  for  thy  sake  I  will  not  leave  it."  At  these  words  the 
delusive  apparition  disappeared. 

Sister  Gabriel '  recounts  yet  another  story  similar  in 
character,  wherein  the  devil  appeared  to  her  in  the  shape 
of  a  hunter,  bringing  her  worldly  clothing,  and  with  spe- 
cious words  advised  her  to  escape  by  crossing  the  brook 
flowing  by  the  church-yard,  and  making  her  way  to  the  dis- 
tant country. 

In  all  these  struggles  the  maiden  was  utterly  devoid  of 
temporal  aid  ;  even  her  father  confessors  for  many 
years  afforded  her  little  assistance.  For  even  they  were, 
by  the  repeated  complaints  of  the  Superioress,  if  not  prej- 
udiced against  her,  yet  rendered  cautious  and  wavering  ; 
or,  it  may  be,  they  thought  fit  to  try  her  by  severe  proba- 
tions and  humiliations. 

In  this  way  she  continued  to  be,  during  her  novitiate  and 
even  longer,  a  stumbling  block  to  the  greater  number  of 
the  Sisters,  a  puzzle  to  others,  yet  to  the  more  enlightened 
an  object  of  high  admiration.  Among  the  last,  three 
Sisters  were  found,  who  were  distinguished  for  their  solid 
virtues  and  who  could  not  be  persuaded  by  any  gossip 
to  take  part  against  the  good  novice  ;  these  were  Sister 
M.  Constantia  Leder,  Sister  M.  Benedicta  Fez,  and  above 
all,  Sister  M.  Johanna  Altweger,  who  succeeded  Mother 
Theresa  in  her  office  of  Superioress. 

The  influence  of  these  distinguished  ladies  was  great 
enough  to  hinder  any  obstacle  being  laid  in  the  way  of 
Crescentia's  profession,  when  the  year  of  probation  had  ex- 
pired. She  was  looking  forward  with  ardent  desire  to  tnis 
decisive  day,  on  which  she  was  irrevocably  to  consecrate 

i  (iabriel,  p.  14. 


The  Year  of  Probation.  5 1 

herself  to  God  by  the  three  vows  and  thus  place  herself  in 
the  happy  necessity  of  always  following  Christ  and  of  car- 
rying the  Cross  after  Him.  With  the  greatest  care  she  pre- 
pared herself  for  this  solemn  act,  which  took  place  on 
June  18th,  1704.  The  ceremony  was  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Father  Provincial,  Odoricus  Schnabel,  who  delivered  a 
most  touching  address  on  the  occasion.  But  those  present 
were  even  more  edified  by  the  sight  of  the  devout  virgin 
than  by  the  preacher's  words.  The  astonishing  piety  with 
which  she  offered  herself  as  a  victim  to  the  Most  High  with 
Christ  and  in  Christ,  attracted  the  admiration  of  all.  As 
she  approached  the  altar,  first  to  take  the  vows,  and  after- 
wards to  receive  Holy  Communion,  the  eyes  of  every  one 
were  fastened  on  her  and  fascinated,  as  at  a  spectacle  never 
seen  before.  A  holy  awe  impressed  the  souls  of  the  whole 
audience  and  many  shed  tears  abundantly.  The  virgin 
seemed  rapt  above  the  world  of  sense,  so  as  no  longer  to  be- 
long to  earth,  and  the  presence  of  heavenly  powers  was 
perceptible  ;  an  atmosphere  of  angelic  purity  seemed  to 
breathe  its  fragrance  even  into  such  souls  as  had  hitherto 
tasted  only  the  ordinary  piety  of  common  life.  Even 
these  felt  the  rays  of  a  mysterious  fire  and  perceived 
that  the  heart  of  this  extraordinary  virgin  must  be  the 
hearth  and  starting  point  of  this  glow  of  warmth.  But 
beyond  this  sensation  all  was  unknown.  It  was  many 
years  after  this  that,  in  holy  obedience  to  her  spiritual  di- 
rector, she  communicated  to  him  what  had  then  passed  be- 
tween God  and  herself.1 

She  said  that  she  had  been  wrapt  in  ecstasy  immediately 
before  making  her  vows  ;  that  it  had  seemed  to  her  as  if 
she  were  no  longer  on  earth,  among  men  ;  Christ,  her  heav- 
enly Bridegroom,  and  His  holy  Mother  had  visibly  appeared 
to  her  ;  her  guardian  angel  was  standing  at  her  side  and 
conducted  her  to  the  place  where  the  divine  espousals 
were  to  take  place  ;  there  her  Redeemer  bowed  most  gra- 
ciously to  her,  placed  a  most  beautiful  ring  on  her  finger, 

1  ott,  B.  i.  en.  9. 


52          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

and  said  :  "  Now  I  have  taken  thee  to  be  My  spouse  ;  go, 
suffer  and  fight ;  I  will  always  assist  thee  with  My  grace, 
and  My  Mother  will  take  thee  under  her  maternal  protec- 
tion/' 

Immediately  on  this,  she  made  the  vows  of  poverty, 
chastity,  and  obedience,  in  the  presence  of  the  Father  Pro- 
vincial, and,  according  to  the  custom  of  that  convent,  re- 
ceived the  name  in  religion  she  was  to  bear,  that  of  the 
holy  Virgin  and  Martyr,  Crescentia,  with  the  surname 
Mary.  A  fit  name,  indeed  ;  a  pure  virgin,  free  even  from 
a  breath  of  carnal  temptation,  she  continued  throughout 
her  life  a  martyr  of  love,  bearing  the  hardest  sufferings 
with  unheard-of  patience,  while  the  fact  of  increasing 
in  perfection  without  intermission  is  the  distinguishing 
characteristic  of  her  life. 

This  vision  at  her  profession  sheds  its  light  over  her 
state  of  mind  at  that  time  sufficiently  to  prove  that  she 
had  already  attained  the  higher  degrees  of  the  passive 
prayer  of  suffering  and  had  at  least  reached  the  first  degree 
of  sublime  union,  the  so-called  mystical  espousals  which  is 
ever  attended  with  a  similar  vision.1  This  degree,  already 
attained,  was  in  itself  a  pledge  that  in  future  she  should 
be  called  to  yet  higher  graces  of  the  mystic  life.  These, 
however,  can  only  be  acquired  by  fearful  interior  and 
exterior  trials,  which  terminate  in  the  transformation  of 
the  whole  being  into  Christ ;  so  that  such  a  soul  can  truly 
exclaim  with  St.  Paul :  "  I  live,  now  not  I,  but  Christ 
liveth  in  me."  *  Both  of  these,  heavy  crosses  and  bitter  suf- 
fering with  unswerving  fidelity,  form  from  this  time  forth 
the  substance  of  the  life  of  this  soul,  so  precious  to  God  ; 
for  it  is  absolutely  the  unalterable  law  of  God,  that  none 
can  receive  a  great  reward  save  by  undergoing  great  labors 
and  crosses. 

Oh,  that  every  Christian,  led  by  easier  paths  than  these 

1  See  St.  Theresa,  Seelenburg.    7  Dwelling,  ch.  1,  2.   Thomas  a  Jesu,  De  Oratlone 
Dlvlna.  L.  I.  IV.  ch.  14.  15.    Schram,  Inst.  Theol.  MysU  T.  1  §  383.    Schol.-Scara- 
melli,  Myst.  Vol.  I.  ninth  degree. 

2  Gal.  11.  ao. 


The  Lion's  Den.  53 

of  the  Saints,  would  at  least,  with  equal  fidelity,  follow  the 
conducting  hand  of  God  !  For :  "  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  endureth  temptation  :  for  when  he  has  been  proved,  he 
shall  receive  the  crown  of  life,  which  God  hath  promised 
to  them  that  love  Him."  ' 


CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Lion's  Den.2 

E  read  in  the  life  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  di  Pazzi  of 
a  vision  wherein  the  Lord  told  her  that  she  would 
be  thrown  into  a  lion's  den,  namely,  that  she  would 
have  to  suffer  horribly  from  the  attacks  of  the  devil.  This 
frightful  state  lasted  five  years,  and  left  her  thoroughly  puri- 
fied and  prepared  for  the  highest  degrees  of  the  interior  life. 
In  like  manner  our  heroine  had  to  descend  into  the  lion's  den 
and  for  four  years  to  endure  the  assaults  of  the  old  serpent, 
and  these  seem  to  have  been  so  extraordinary  and  to  have 
assumed  such  a  glaring  aspect,  that  perhaps  some  of  our 
readers  may  not  feel  inclined  to  believe  the  most  important 
statements  of  eye-witnesses.  If  the  facts  which  we  are 
about  to  relate  were  the  only  ones  of  their  kind  spoken  of 
in  history,  hesitation  and  doubt  concerning  them  might 
appear  to  be  somewhat  justified ;  but  the  history  of  the 
Saints  in  all  ages,  even  up  to  the  present  time,  presents  us 
with  many  similar  cases,  perhaps  even  more  extraordinary 
ones,  and  these  occur  at  certain  periods  and  degrees  of  the 
mystical  life  in  regular  gradation.  Therefore  the  masters 
of  the  spiritual  life  teach,  that  for  such  souls  as  are  led  to 
the  highest  degree  of  prayer  by  means  of  the  passive  puri- 
fication, these  extraordinary  and  palpable  temptations  and 

1  James  i.  12.  2  Summ.  N.  6.— Act  B.  Summ.  Obj.  N.  13,  and  Resp.  p.  50. 


54          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

torments  of  the  devil  are  not  exceptional  cases,  but  occur 
according  to  a  fixed  rule.1 

We  take  occasion  to  remark,  however,  that  this  state  is 
by  no  means  the  same  as  that  which  is  called  possession 
(possessio).  leather  is  it  a  kind  of  circum-possessio 
called  obsession  (obsessio),  and  consists,  according  to  Scara- 
melli  *  in  this  : — that  evil  spirits,  by  God's  special  permis- 
sion, surround  persons,  excruciating  them  by  some  extra- 
ordinary assaults  for  their  purification  and  sanctification. 
To  speak  figuratively,  the  evil  spirits  have  not  taken 
possession  of  the  fort,  but  besiege  and  attack  it. 

With  the  Ven.  Crescentia  these  vexatious  proceedings 
commenced  immediately  on  her  entering  the  convent ; 
nay,  some  say  they  had  even  occurred  before  that  time. 
At  first  no  one  noticed  them,  because  she  never  spoke  to 
any  one  about  them.  Many  disturbances  which  happened 
to  her  when  at  work,  such  as  snatching  the  dishes  from 
her  hands  and  breaking  them  by  throwing  them  on  the 
ground,  extinguishing  the  fire  and  the  like,  were  attrib- 
uted to  her  awkwardness  or  perversity,  but  these  diaboli- 
cal persecutions  soon  assumed  so  visible  and  tangible  a 
character,  that  they  threw  the  whole  house  into  commotion. 

One  evening  Sister  Mary  Beatrice  Leder  noticed  in  the 
corridor  of  the  dormitory  a  frightful  form,  dressed  like  a 
hunter,  but  without  a  head,  enter  the  cell  of  Sister  M. 
Crescentia.  Crescentia  soon  came  up  and  was  about  to 
enter  her  cell,  because  the  Rule  of  the  house  required 
that  every  Sister  should  withdraw  to  her  cell  at  eight 

1  SeeScaramelli,  Myst.  T.  II.  p.  292-364.  Thomas  a  Jesu,  De  Oral.  Divlna,  L.  II. 
c- 14. 15.— Schram,  Instil.  Tbeol.  Myst.  T.  1. 6.  217-225.— Especially  GSrres,  Myst.  Vol. 
III.  p.  430-470,  who  enumerates  many  examples,  which  may,  however,  easily  be  in- 
creased. Not  to  mention  the  tortures  undergone  by  Christina  Mirabilis,  which  are 
beyond  measure,  we  find  the  same  trials  in  the  life  of  St.  Rosa  of  Lima,  of  St.  Frances 
of  Rome,  of  St.  Peter  of  Alcantara,  of  St.  Paschal,  of  the  Ven.  Dominions  Jesu 
Maria,  and  in  our  times  of  the  late  Venerated  Cur6  D'Ars,  M.  de  Vianney,  of  the 
pious  Anne  Catherine  Emmerich  and  of  Maria  Mori.  Gorres,  in  his  Mystik,  relates 
(L.  C.)  at  length  the  assaults  undergone  by  our  Crescentia,  and  cites  the  reports  of 
Sister  Gabriel  Merz  verbatim.  He  agrees.  In  the  main,  with  those  cited  In  the  Act 
of  Beatification ;  but  we  have  preferred  strictly  to  adhere  to  those  acts. 

»  Loco  clt.  p.  302. 


The  Liorfs  Den.  5  5 

o'clock  in  the  evening.  Sister  Beatrice  ran  up  to  her,  held 
her  back  by  her  clothes,  and  warned  her  not  to  go  into  her 
cell,  as  there  was  a  frightful  spectre  there.  Undismayed, 
however,  she  replied  that  obedience  required  her  to  go 
into  her  cell,  and  this  she  did  without  delay.  This  incident, 
in  itself  scarcely  worth  noticing,  was,  notwithstanding 
the  earnest  entreaties  of  Crescentia,  related  on  the  follow- 
ing day  to  the  Superioress  by  the  other  Sister;  in  the  ex- 
planation demanded  of  her,  the  young  woman  was  com- 
pelled to  confess  that  she  had  often  been  tormented  by  the 
devil  in  her  cell,  sometimes  even  whipped. 

From  that  time  forth,  even  in  clear  daylight  and  before 
the  whole  community,  strange  vexations  beset  Crescentia. 
When  she  knelt  down  to  kiss  the  floor,  according  to  a  cus- 
tom in  the  community,  or  when  in  the  chapter-room  she 
bowed  her  head,  it  was  frequently  struck  to  the  ground  so 
forcibly  by  an  invisible  power,  that  the  worst  result  might 
be  expected  and,  in  fact,  blood  streamed  from  her  nose 
and  mouth. 

At  table  she  sat  near  the  wall  and  her  head  was  fre- 
quently hammered  against  it,  in  such  a  way  that  all  the 
Sisters  were  terrified  and  believed  that  her  skull  must 
certainly  be  smashed  to  pieces.  The  Superioress  was 
consequently  compelled  to  assign  her  another  place.  But 
now  she  was  at  two  different  times  seized  upon  by  an  un- 
seen power,  as  she  was  sitting  at  table  with  the  Sisters,  and 
carried  off  with  the  quickness  of  lightning  from  the  refec- 
tory without  her  feet  touching  the  ground.  The  Sisters 
hastened  after  her,  but  she  was  soon  out  of  sight ;  they 
found  her  after  a  long  search  in  a  remote  corner  of  the 
house.  Once  she  was  under  a  pile  of  turnips  that  had  been 
heaped  over  her ;  at  another  time  she  was  in  the  cellar, 
jammed  in  between  beams  of  timber  on  which  hogsheads 
had  been  laden.  The  Sisters  rescued  her  from  this  perilous 
position  with  much  difficulty. 

But  it  was  at  night,  in  her  room,  that  she  was  most  cruelly 
tormented.  At  first  she  heard  a  fearful  noise  before  her 


56         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

door,  soon  it  came  into  the  cell  itself  ;  then  she  saw  her- 
self surrounded  by  all  kinds  of  frightfully  fantastic  figures, 
such  as  we  read  of  in  the  lives  of  other  Saints.  Poisonous 
or  disgusting  animals,  such  as  snakes,  toads,  spiders,  craw- 
fishes, in  great  numbers,  appeared  to  fill  her  room  and  even 
to  come  near  her  bed.  She,  however,  conquered  her  nat- 
ural repugnance,  raised  her  soul  to  God  in  faith  and  with 
more  than  masculine  courage  stuck  to  her  post,  saying  : 
"  Obedience  appointed  this  room  to  me,  not  to  you ;  it  is  I 
that  must  stay  here,  not  you  ;  begone  with  you."  There- 
upon the  illusions  disappeared. 

Frequently  she  was  roughly  torn  from  the  bed  and  merci- 
lessly beaten.  One  night  a  hellish  noise  of  fifes,  rattling 
of  chains,  and  cracking  of  whips,  was  heard  coming  from 
her  room.  After  that  the  poor  creature  was  snatched  away 
from  her  cell  by  invisible  agency  and  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye  dragged  down  the  stairs,  through  two  doors,  out  of 
the  house  to  the  creek,  which  was  then  running  swiftly 
through  a  corner  of  the  convent  property.  There  she  was 
first  dipped  into  the  water,  then  packed  away  under  a  pile 
of  wood.  Some  of  the  Sisters,  awakened  by  the  noise, 
hastened  to  her  assistance,  and  when  they  heard  the  open- 
ing and  closing  of  the  door  and  of  the  stone  covering  of  the 
creek,  they  searched  for  their  Sister  in  religion,  both  in  the 
creek  and  in  the  court-yard.  After  a  long  time  they  noticed 
that  one  of  their  many  wood-piles  had  been  thrown  down 
and  torn  apart ;  there  they  at  length  found  Crescentia, 
stretched  on  the  snow-covered  ground,  with  her  face  down- 
wards, covered  with  several  logs  of  wood,  stiff  with  the 
frost  and  half-dead. '  The  same  tormenting  occurrence 
was  repeated  several  times,  at  least  in  substance.  She  was 
dragged  over  the  ground  by  night,  in  the  severest  cold 
weather,  thrown  into  the  mill-stream,  and  held  so  long 
under  water  that  it  is  incomprehensible  how  she  escaped 
being  drowned  or  frozen  to  death,  for  her  clothes  stuck  to- . 
gether  with  the  ice  which  covered  them." 

1  A--t  B.  Sunain.  ObJ.  N.  13.  §  12  et  21.  -  ( nt.  N.  -JO.    Sumin.  N.  6. 


The  Lion's  Den.  57 

Frequently  she  was  thrown  with  force  to  the  ground,  or 
down  the  stair-case,  was  pressed  against  the  wall  and  at  the 
same  time  ruthlessly  beaten.  Many  times  she  received  such 
a  blow  in  her  face  that  she  bled  at  her  nose  and  mouth 
and  her  cheek  swelled  up.  Once,  when  she  was  busy 
in  the  loft,  the  noise  of  a  heavy  fall  was  heard.  The 
Superioress  immediately  sent  up  some  Sisters  to  see  what 
was  the  matter  ;  they  found  Crescentia  had  fainted  and 
was  lying  bleeding  between  two  beams  of  wood.  She  had 
been  thrown  down  from  the  height  of  the  roof,  so  that  she 
lost  two  teeth,  and  the  bone  of  her  nose  was  fractured  so 
badly  that  it  formed  a  little  hump,  which  remained  visible 
all  her  life. 

Once  in  the  yard  she  was  thrust  under  a  box  filled  with 
old  iron,  and  it  was  a  long  while  before  the  Sisters  found 
her  and  released  her  from  this  painful  position.  Another 
time,  as  Father  Ott  relates,  she  was  discovered  under  a 
heavy  chest  in  the  garret. 

The  vexations  in  the  kitchen  were  even  increased.  The 
following  cases  are  related  by  many  witnesses  :  '  She  was 
holding  a  vessel  containing  boiling  milk  and  dumplings, 
when  Sister  M.  Johanna  Altweger,  who  was  near,  saw  that 
the  vessel  was  snatched  from  Creseentia's  hand  by  an  in- 
visible power  and  its  contents  poured  over  her  head,  so 
that  she  received  several  severe  wounds  from  the  scalding, 
all  over  her  body.  Another  instance  that  is  related  is  this: 
Crescentia  was  just  ready  to  serve  up  a  wine  soup  prepared 
for  the  community,  when  a  dark  figure  appeared  and  began 
to  carry  off  the  vessel.  The  courageous  virgin  called  on 
her  Eedeemer  for  help,  and  soup-ladle  in  hand,  pursued  the 
strange  robber,  beat  him  lustily  and  forced  him  to  give  up 
the  vessel,  on  doing  which  he  at  once  disappeared.  The 
Sisters  who  tasted  of  this  soup,  the  price  of  this  heroic 
combat,  affirmed,  all  of  them,  even  her  greatest  enemies, 
that  they  had  never  eaten  so  delicious  a  dish. 

These  acts  of  ill-usage,  so  many  of  which   happened  be- 
>  Summ,  N-  6  et  16.  §  201. 


58          The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

fore  eye  or  ear-witnesses,  in  so  striking  a  form  that  the 
idea  of  attributing  them  to  the  effect  of  the  imagination 
falls  of  itself,  lasted  during  the  first  three  years  after 
her  profession.  They  are  so  terrible  in  themselves,  that 
only  one  possessing  an  heroic  fortitude  could  have  pre- 
served her  soul  in  peace  while  enduring  them,  but  in  this 
case  their  pressure  was  rendered  greater,  both  in  sharpness 
and  extent,  by  the  persecution  Crescentia  also  underwent  at 
the  hands  of  her  fellow-beings. 

It  can  hardly  excite  our  surprise  to  learn  that  such  un- 
usual occurrences  created  a  great  stir  among  all  the  Sister- 
hood of  the  convent  j  those  who  had  been  already  against 
Crescentia,  now  suffered  themselves  to  utter  such  severe 
criticisms,  that  even  those  who  had  not  hitherto  been  un- 
favorable to  her  began  to  entertain  doubts  in  her  regard, 
and  to  avoid  meeting  her,  as  if  they  really  suspected  that 
she  was  possessed  by  the  devil. 

The  evil-minded  among  them  scrupled  not  to  say  that  she 
was  a  "  witch"  and  had  entered  into  a  compact  with  the 
devil  to  acquire  the  halo  of  sanctity.  These  opinions  were 
favored  by  the  prejudices  of  the  age,  which,  as  we  know,  was 
very  credulous  in  such  matters,  and  thus  it  came  to  pass 
that  this  grievous  calumny  was  promulgated  even  outside 
the  convent,  and  that  many  persons  believed  it. 

It  is  easy  to  imagine  that  such  accusations  became  a  fer- 
tile germ  of  bitterness  to  our  much-tried  heroine.  The  re- 
proaches of  sham-holiness,  possession,  devilish  delusion, 
were  frequently  cast  at  her.  Most  of  her  Sisters  in  religion 
systematically  avoided  her,  blessed  themselves  when  she 
passed  by,  and  spell-bound  by  superstitious  fears,  were  care- 
ful not  even  to  touch  the  dress  of  the  supposed  witch.  The 
Mother  Superior  now  laid  altogether  aside  justice  and 
toleration  in  Crescentia's  regard.  One  single  occur- 
rence will  show  how  far  she  carried  out  her  harshness  to- 
wards her. 

By  the  direction  of  their  actual  father  confessor,  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Damian  Kuilestadt,  parish  priest  of  Kaufbeuren, 


The  Liojfs  Den.  59 

his  niece,  Miss  Catherine  Kempter,  was  received  into  the 
community,  although  the  number  of  sisters  (20)  for  whom 
cells  were  provided  was  complete.  To  prepare  a  cell  for 
the  new  novice,  who  in  religion  was  to  be  called  Sister  M. 
Felicitas,  the  Superioress  commanded  Crescentia  to  vacate 
her  own  room  in  favor  of  the  new-comer,  although,  as  a  pro- 
fessed nun,  Crescentia  had  the  first  right  to  the  cell.  The 
Superioress  enforced  her  command  with  the  stinging  re- 
mark that  she  had  brought  nothing  to  the  convent  and  was 
but  a  burden  upon  them,  while  Miss  Kempter  had  a  good 
dower.  To  this  speech  she  added,  with  revolting  asperity, 
that  Crescentia  might  look  out  a  place  to  sleep  in  for  herself. 

She  was  now  literally  like  the  Saviour,  in  this  respect, 
that  in  the  convent  she  had  not  where  to  lay  her  head. 
She  had  to  go  round  among  her  Sisters  and  beg  of  them 
permission  to  spread  her  mattress  in  a  corner  of  their  cell, 
for  a  night's  repose.  This  she  did  for  two  years,  in  all 
humility  and  gentle  quietness,  until  the  Mistress  of  the 
Novices,  M.  Dorothea  Osterrieder,  took  sick  and  had  to  ex- 
change her  cell  for  the  infirmary,  where  she  afterwards  died. 

We  are  reminded  of  St.  Elizabeth,  Landgravine  of  Thur- 
ingia,  expelled  by  her  brother-in-law  from  her  husband's 
castle  at  Wartburg  and  wandering  from  door  to  door 
in  Eisenach,  seeking  a  night's  lodging  for  herself  and  her 
little  ones  and  seeking  it  in  vain,  until  finally  she  found 
shelter  in  a  stable  used  for  pigs,  whence  the  swine  had  to 
be  driven  out  to  make  room  for  her.  And  they  who  admire 
the  greatness  of  soul  shown  by  this  daughter  of  princes,  in 
requesting  the  Friars  Minor  to  chant  the  Te  Deum  at  the 
midnight  office  in  order  to  give  thanks  to  the  Almighty 
for  likening  her  in  this  way  to  the  poor  yet  great  King, 
will  not  refuse  a  tribute  of  honor  and  admiration  to  the 
poor  weaver's  daughter,  when  they  learn  how  sublimely  she 
conducted  herself  in  these  most  severe  trials.  No  word 
of  complaint,  no  defence  of  herself,  not  a  prayer  to  be 
spared  this  injustice  escaped  her  lips,  and  no  dark  or  gloomy 
looks  betrayed  any  irritability.  On  the  contrary,  contem- 


60          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

plating  the  matter  from  the  high  observatory  of  faith,  she  be- 
lieved and  said  that  this  treatment  was  the  just  one  for 
her;  that  she,  a  poor  weaver's  daughter,  who  had  been  taken 
in  for  love  of  God,  deserved  no  better.  Nay,  her  spirit  tri- 
umphed over  all  purely  human  considerations  and  she  dis- 
covered honor  and  wealth  where  the  carnal  eye  sees  extreme 
neglect  and  poverty.  To  be  compelled  to  taste  of  the  con- 
tempt and  poverty  of  Eternal  Love  made  Flesh  appeared  to 
her  a  priceless  gain  of  riches  and  of  honor.  And  she  ex- 
pressed her  gratitude  not  only  in  words  but  with  her 
whole  heart,  for  what  she  called  unmerited  alms,  when 
the  worst,  worn-out  clothes  were  given  to  her,  or  when 
the  hardly  eatable  remnants  of  food  were  left  for  her, 
or  when  a  corner  of  a  cell  was  assigned  her  for  a  night's 
rest.  It  was  never  noticed  that  she  in  any  way  avoided 
her  persecutors;  in  fact,  she  requited  evil  with  good  to  such 
an  extent  that  very  soon  the  general  cry  among  the  Sisters 
was:  "If  you  wish  to  be  a  favorite  of  Crescentia's,  you 
must  offend  her." 

But  even  more  painful  than  the  treatment  she  received 
from  the  Superioress,  harsh  as  it  was,  must  have  been  that 
which  the  forsaken  young  woman  experienced  at  the  hands 
of  her  father  confessor,  of  the  Father  Provincial,  and  of  the 
other  influential  persons  before  whom  she  had  been  falsely 
accused.  Although  these  persons  were  not  so  far  led  away 
as  absolutely  to  condemn  the  accused,  they  nevertheless 
began  to  hesitate  and  doubt  if  she  was  guided  by  the  right 
spirit,  and  did  not  scruple  to  communicate  their  suspicions 
to  her,  and  to  subject  her  to  strict  examinations,  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  truth.  One  of  the  father  confessors 
even  proposed  to  resign  his  office,  because  he  doubted  his 
own  ability  to  decide  correctly  on  so  singular,  remarkable, 
and  critical  an  occurrence  and  to  maintain  peace  amid  the 
diversity  of  opinions  and  party-strifes. 

Two  young  priests  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  probably 
instigated  thereto  or  requested  so  to  do  by  the  Mother 
Superior,  undertook  to  institute  a  kind  of  investigation  re- 


The  Lion's  Den,  61 

specting  the  spirit  that  animated  Cresceutia;  that  is  to  say, 
whether  she  was  possessed  of  the  devil,  and  guilty  of  sorcery 
and  hypocrisy.  Governed  by  prejudice,  their  proceedings 
were  carried  on  without  love  or  discretion.  The  less  that 
Crescentia  said  in  her  own  defence,  the  more  humbly  that 
she  demeaned  herself  at  all  the  reproaches  they  cast  at  her, 
simply  replying  that  she  did  not  know  what  a  witch  was,  so 
much  the  more  rashly  and  harshly  did  these  uncalled-for 
judges  pass  sentence.  They  asserted  that  Crescentia  was  in 
league  with  the  devil,  and  was  thereby  rendered  as  stupid, 
as  devoid  of  feeling,  and  as  perverse  as  possible. ' 

Such  a  judgment  could  but  confirm  the  Superioress  in 
her  harsh  behavior;  she  went  so  far  as  to  shut  up  the  Sister 
in  a  dark,  lonely  room  and  leave  her  there  for  a  long  time, 
with  scarcely  any  food.  Here  the  Father  of  all  consolation 
came  to  her  assistance  with  such  heavenly  illuminations 
and  spiritual  delights,  that  she  declared  her  stay  in  that 
dark  place  had  given  her  the  sweetest  and  greatest  happi- 
ness, and  that  it  was  a  grace  altogether  unmerited. 

Some  years  later,  when  Mother  Johanna  was  Superioress, 
Crescentia  was  again  subjected  to  a  severe  trial  instituted  by 
Rev.Weindach,  a  spiritual  counsellor  from  Augsburg,  and  was 
repeatedly  examined  and  condemned.  He  publicly  declared 
in  a  threatening  tone  that  she  must  be  sent  to  another  con- 
vent and  there  kept  in  strict  custody  ;  he  would  himself  see 
the  spiritual  authorities  and  have  this  measure  carried  out. 

Nothing  came  of  these  threats,  however,  but  for  a  long 
time  they  hovered  over  the  head  of  the  virgin,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  thoroughly  resigned  to  a  fate  apparently  un- 
avoidable, and  which  at  least  brought  on  new  sufferings  by 
sharp  speeches  uttered  against  her  outside  the  convent, 
which  some  tattling  tongues  repeated  to  her.  To  all  this 
storm  of  accusation,  the  heroic  servant  of  the  Crucified 
opposed  only  her  wonted  text  :  "  Jesus  autem  tacebat," 
"But  Jesus  held  His  peace."  This  divine  silence  at  the 
severest  accusations  was  her  model. 


1  Summ.  N.  8.  8  153.-N.  10.  §  13. 


62          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

In  fact,  there  is  no  defence  more  effective,  and  more 
meritorious  than  humbly  to  remain  silent  before  the  un- 
just, and  to  commit  one's  self  and  one's  affairs,  without  re- 
servation, to  the  hands  of  the  Judge  of  the  living  and  the 
dead.  It  could  scarcely  fail  but  that  the  Lord  would  event- 
ually take  the  matter  into  His  all-powerful  hands,  and  in 
the  end  exalt  her  as  highly  before  men,  as  she,  of  her  own 
free-will,  had  humbled  herself  before  them. 

How  painful  must  have  been  this  evil-speaking  of  her, 
coming  to  her  from  all  sides,  even  from  persons  whom  she 
held  in  great  reverence,  we  may  easily  imagine.  Her  pro- 
found humility  made  her  look  on  her  lightest  defects  as 
grievous  sins,  and  on  herself  as  a  creature  of  reprobation  ; 
thus  she  was  naturally  inclined  to  think  the  worst  of  her- 
self, and  to  assent  to  every  accusation  made  against  her, 
especially  when  advanced  by  Superior  or  priest.  Her  soul 
must,  therefore,  have  been  frequently  harassed  and  restless, 
and  her  heart  have  been  overwhelmed  by  bitter  feelings  ; 
nay,  she  must  have  despaired  of  herself,  if  the  hand  of 
God  had  not  upheld  her  by  inspiring  her  soul  with  an  heroic 
confidence  in  the  Redeemer.  To  be  persecuted  by  good 
people,  or  by  those  holding  God's  place  to  us,  is,  of  all  the 
bitter  sufferings  of  exterior  life,  the  bitterest.  So,  at  least, 
St.  Theresa  judged  from  her  own  experience.1  She  says : 
"  What  happened  to  me,  namely,  the  evil  opinions  of,  and 
doubts  entertained  by,  her  superiors  and  confessors,  respect- 
ing the  spirit  that  inspired  her,  would  have  been  sufficient 
to  drive  me  crazy  ;  sometimes  I  was  in  such  a  state  that  I 
could  do  nothing  but  simply  raise  my  eyes  unto  my  Lord. 
Although  I  have  during  my  life  suffered  very  great  pains, 
this  opposition  of  excellent  persons  was  the  worst  of  all." 

And  yet,  even  all  this  would  have  been  endurable,  if, 
during  this  time,  her  soul  had  experienced  sensible  devo- 
tion and  interior  consolation.  For  the  suffering  of  the 
outward  person  is  scarcely  felt  when  the  spirit  is  in  Heaven, 
penetrated  by  the  rays  of  light  and  love.  But  this  conso- 

1  Autobiography,  p.  28. 


The  Liorts  Den.  63 

lation,  which  in  earlier  times  she  had  so  abundantly  en- 
joyed, was  now,  for  the  most  part,  withdrawn.  She  was  as- 
sailed by  painful  scruples,  tormented  with  aridity,  aban- 
donment, and  darkness  of  spirit,  and  what  usually  hap- 
pens in  such  cases,  violent  temptations  against  faith^  and 
hope  were  constantly  knocking  at  her  heart  ;  the  terrible 
thought  that  she  did  not  belong  to  the  elect  pursued  her 
incessantly. 

Thus,  no  protection  was  left  her,  nothing  but  a  naked, 
dim  faith,  which  faith,  however,  was  "  the  shield  "  where- 
with she  was  able  "  to  extinguish  all  the  fiery  darts  of 
the  most  wicked  one."1  Sustained  by  this  faith,  she 
clung  firmly  to  the  feet  of  the  Redeemer,  and  gave  her- 
self up  to  Him  for  life  or  death.  From  this  faith  sprung 
the  incredible  firmness  with  which,  without  wavering,  with- 
out losing  peace  in  the  higher  part  of  her  soul,  she  felt  the 
bitter  waves  of  sorrow  rush  over  her.  She  was  like  unto 
the  wise  man  who  hears  the  word  of  the  Lord  and  keeps 
it,  namely,  who  believes  and  lives  according  to  his  belief,  and 
whose  house  is  built  upon  a  solid  rock."  However  much 
the  storms  of  temptation  came  and  the  waters  of  suf- 
fering rushed  against  this  soul  confirmed  in  God,  she  fell 
not,  but  rather  Avas  she  purified  to  the  depths  of  her  being 
from  all  thoughts  of  self-complacency,  self-confidence,  and 
self-will,  and  marvellously  advanced  in  every  virtue,  espec- 
ially in  faith,  hope,  and  charity. 

Dear  reader,  be  you  also  careful  not  to  build  upon  the 
sand  of  human  feelings  or  human  opinions,  but  upon  the 
rock  of  faith,  and  marvel  not  that  God  permits  violent 
tempests,  both  by  man  and  devil,  to  be  excited  against  you. 
Direct  the  eyes  of  your  soul  to  the  Cross,  and  ponder  over 
the  words  of  the  Wise  Man  :  •  "  Take  all  that  shall  be 
brought  upon  thee  :  and  in  thy  sorrow  endure,  and  in  thy 
humiliation  keep  patience  :  f$r  gold  and  silver  are  tried  in 
the  fire,  but  acceptable  men  in  the  furnace  of  humilia- 
tion."3 

1  Ephes.  vi.  16.  2  Matth.  vli.  24, 25.  8  Ecclus.  ii.  4,  5. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
The  Redemption. ' 

OR  two  years  and  a  half  had  the  dark  night,  just 
described,  lasted,  when  a  ray  of  hope  came  to 
announce  her  deliverance  to  the  severely-tried 
virgin.  She  had  perse veringly  had  recourse  to  Mary,  the 
Queen  of  Heaven,  and  to  her  alone  had  complained  of  the 
oppressions  she  received.  Now,  "  her  beloved  Mother,"  as 
she  called  Mary,  appeared  to  her,  consoled  and  encouraged 
her  to  persevere,  promising  that  very  soon  she  should  be 
freed  from  this  tyranny  of  Satan.  At  the  same  time  she 
was  commanded,  with  the  permission  of  the  Mother  Supe- 
rior, to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  the  picture  of  the  Mother  of 
God  in  the  Church  of  the  Friars  Minor  at  Lechsfeld  ;  that 
would  be  the  place  where  she  should  be  forever  delivered 
from  satanical  persecutions.  With  a  heart  full  of  consola- 
tion and  gratitude,  Sister  Mary  Crescentia  went  to  the 
Mother  Superior  and  in  all  simplicity  requested  permission 
to  perform  that  pious  pilgrimage;  but  she  met  with  a  denial, 
and  when  she  got  others  to  intercede  for  her  and  make  the 
same  request  for  her,  she  had  to  put  up  with  harsh  re- 
proaches, instead  of  the  favor  being  granted.  There 
seemed  then  no  prospect  of  changing  the  mind  of  the 
Superioress  and  obtaining  the  promised  redemption,  not- 
'  withstanding  that  the  rules,  being  exempt  from  canonical 
enclosure,  were  in  no  way  opposed  to  such  a  pilgrimage  ; 
the  will  of  the  Superior,  influenced  by  a  blind  antipathy, 
\vas  the  only  obstacle  in  the  way. 

Meantime,  the  Lord  made  use  of  this  perverse  will  to 
obtain  His  end,  and  that  for  the  best  interests  of  His  beloved 
child,  to  wit  :  the  opportunity  of  exercising  patience  and 
holy  obedience  for  a  length  of  time,  a  far  more  precious 
favor  than  the  one  requested.  Not  a  murmur,  not  a  com- 

1  Sunim.  N.  6. 


77ie  Redemption.  65 

plaint  escaped  her  lips  ;  she  submitted .  to  the  harsh  rule 
of  her  Superioress,  and  in  all  humility  and  patience  adored 
the  all-wise  and  merciful  will  of  God.  In  this  way  she 
was  sure  to  attain,  with  ever  greater  certainty,  the  termi- 
nus appointed  by  God,  and  if  apparently  her  redemption 
was  delayed,  she  was  in  reality  approaching  it  in  a  more 
glorious  and  more  speedy  way.  The  moment  soon  arrived 
when  the  measure  of  certain  sufferings  and  trials  was  filled 
up.  The  Lord  then  cast  aside  the  human  tool  of  which, 
for  His  own  high  purposes,  He  had  made  use  of,  and 
changed  the  whole  state  of  affairs. 

The  mis-government  of  Mother  M.  Theresa  Schmid  had 
become  so  flagrant  that  the  Father  Provincial  had  to  in- 
terfere, and,  in  the  year  1707,  she  was  removed  from 
office.  This,  as  we  have  noted  before,  is  the  only  case  of 
the  kind  in  the  history  of  that  convent.  Sister  M.  Jo- 
hanna Altweger  was  elected  in  her  stead.  This  Sister  was 
one  distinguished  in  every  way,  one  to  whom  the  reports  of 
her  fellow-religious,  as  well  as  those  of  outsiders,  bear  favor- 
able testimony.  It  may  suffice  to  quote  what  Father  Ott ' 
says  of  her:  "  She  was  a  very  prudent,  pious,  and  able  relig- 
ious, who  presided  over  the  convent  for  thirty-four  years, 
governing  it  with  eminent  virtue  and  prudence,  not  only  in 
spiritual  but  also  in  temporal  affairs,  so  that  from  her  in- 
feriors she  merited  honor,  love,  and  gratitude,  as  Avell  as 
the  greatest  veneration  from  those  outside,  and  with  these 
sentiments  they  carried  her  to  the  grave.  Sister  M. 
Johanna  seems  to  have  been  specially  elected  by  Almighty 
God,  that  she  might  direct  Sister  M.  Orescentia  according 
to  the  rules  of  prudence,  might  scrutinize  her  virtues, 
and  afford  her  occasion  and  opportunity  for  those  greatest 
and  most  difficult  exercises  practised  by  the  most  renowned 
Saints."  Thus  far  Father  Ott. 

Mother  M.  Johanna  had  scarcely  entered  on  the  duties  of 
her  office,  ere  she  thought  of  liberating  the  over-burdened 
Crescenti a,  for  whose  sufferings  she  had  always  felt  com- 
1  ott,  B.  i.  ch.  3. 


66          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

passion,  and  whose  virtues  she  had  admired,  from  the 
diabolical  influences  which  distressed  her.  She  sent  the 
pious  virgin,  accompanied  by  Sister  M.  Anna  Neth,  to 
Lechsfeld,  that  at  length  the  proposed  pilgrimage  might 
take  place.  Many  extraordinary  things  occurred  in  this 
pilgrimage  which  we  cannot  omit  to  notice,  since  they  are 
affirmed,  not  only  by  Sister  M.  Anna  Neth,  whose  testi- 
mony might  be  esteemed  dubious,  but  by  the  repeated 
assertions  of  the  Superioress,  who  immediately  investigated 
the  matter  and  questioned  Crescentia  herself  about  it.  ' 

When  the  Sisters  were  preparing  for  their  journey  (which 
was  at  least  six  hours'  walk)  to  the  miraculous  picture,  the 
Superioress  felt  at  a  loss,  because  she  had  no  reliable 
person  to  accompany  the  Sisters,  neither  of  whom  knew 
the  road.  Suddenly  a  messenger  was  announced  at  the 
convent-gate,  who  asked  if  any  of  the  Sisterhood  wished  to 
go  to  Lechsfeld,  in  which  case  he  was  ready  to  accompany 
them,  and  show  them  the  way.  The  portress  informed  the 
Mother  Superior  of  this  offer,  adding  that  she  had  never 
seen  such  a  modest  and  well-behaved  young  man  before. 
The  Mother  accepted  the  kind  offer  without  hesitation. 
The  stranger  refused  to  take  refreshment  and  added  that 
he  would  wait  outside  the  city  for  the  Sisters  and  conduct 
them  safely.  And  so  it  happened.  On  the  road  they 
repeatedly  said  the  beads  together,  and  the  unknown  guide 
spoke  of  spiritual  things,  especially  of  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Queen  of  Heaven,  with  so  much  unction  "and  in  so 
pleasing  a  manner,  that  the  pilgrims  forgot  the  tedium  of 
the  way  ;  they  did  not  even  notice  the  length  of  the  jour- 
ney until  they  came  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, when  all  at  once  their  companion  vanished  and  on 
the  far-extending  plain  no  human  form  save  their  own  was 
visible.  A  shudder  passed  through  Sister  Mary  Anna. 
"What  is  that  ?  Who  was  he  ?  "  she  inquired  of  Cres- 
centia; but  she  who  knew  that  it  was  good  to  "hide  the 
secret  of  the  King, "  *  answered  evasively  that  they  were 

1  Act  B.  Defensio,  6  50,  51.  *  Tob.  ill.  7. 


The  Redemption.  67 

now  in  sight  of  the  convent  and  of  the  Church,  that  the 
man  had  guided  them  far  enough  ;  they  should  offer  up 
;i  thanksgiving  to  their  heavenly  Father  for  the  protec- 
tion His  Providence  had  granted  them. 

In  silence,  but  much  moved  in  spirit,  both  of  them  then 
entered  the  Church.  Sister  M.  Crescentia  remained  dur- 
ing the  rest  of  the  day,  until  late  in  the  night,  kneeling  be- 
fore the  miraculous  picture,  motionless  as  a  statue.  Before 
the  break  of  day,  on  the  following  morning,  they  were  wait- 
ing at  the  Church  door,  and  very  carefully  prepared  them- 
selves for  Holy  Communion.  After  which,  Ven.  Crescentia 
was  rapt  in  ecstasy.  She  remained  in  that  state  for  an 
hour,  as  stiff  as  a  statue,  now  pale,  now  glowing  with  red, 
entirely  absorbed,  so  that  her  companion  did  not  know 
what  to  make  of  it,  and  became  embarrassed  and  fright- 
ened. '  Meantime,  the  Mother  of  Mercy  had  appeared 
to  the  servant  of  God  and  had  accosted  her  with  great 
kindness,  telling  her  she  should  in  future  be  free  from 
any  outward  persecution  by  Satan,  while  for  her  spiritual 
benefit  she  would  often  have  to  bear  interior  sufferings. 
"  Though,"  she  added,  "  do  not  fear;  I  myself  will  be  thy 
protection." 

Filled  with  indescribable  consolation,  returning  thanks 
and  giving  honor  to  the  heavenly  Father  and  her  beloved 
Mother  Mary,  she  returned  to  her  dear  convent  the  very 
same  day.  She  herself  said  nothing  of  these  extraordinary 
occurrences,  but  her  companion  could  not  keep  from  tell- 
ing Mother  Johanna  all  that  she  remarked  that  was  mar- 
vellous in  Crescentia  and  in  their  companion  ;  concerning 
the  latter  she  stated,  that  at  the  conversation  of  this  un- 
known friend  she  had  felt  like  the  disciples  at  Emmaus  ; 
her  heart  burned  within  her,  and  the  thought  that  they 
were  accompanied  by  an  angel  became  certainty  when  he 
vanished  in  an  inexplicable  manner. 

The  prudent  Superioress  laid  no  great  stress  on  this 
narrative  of  Sister  M.  Anna.  She  reflected  carefully  on 

1  Ott,  p.  30. 


68          The  Life   of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

the  ciivmnstaixvs  detailed,  and  held  her  tongue.  After 
the  lapse  of  a  considerable  time,  she  came  upon  Crescentia 
unawares  with  the  question,  whether  she  knew  who  the  pil- 
grim was  that  had  borne  them  company.  The  young  woman 
shrank  from  answering.  She  dared  not  lie,  and  to  reveal 
an  extraordinary  grace  was  very  painful  to  her.  Blushing 
painfully,  she  most  humbly  made  known  the  truth  that  it 
was  her  special  patron,  St.  Anthony  of  Padua.  When  ques- 
tioned more  closely,  she  communicated  to  the  Superioress 
the  vision  she  had  had,  and  the  promise  that  had  been 
made  to  her  after  Holy  Communion. 

This  being  accompanied  by  St.  Anthony,  remarkable  as 
it  may  appear,  is  not  incredible,  since  similar  and  even 
more  wonderful  occurrences  are  related  in  the  lives  of  other 
Saints,  as  in  those  of  St.  Eose  of  Lima,  and  of  St.  .Mary 
Frances  of  the  Five  Wounds.  The  communion  of  Saints 
often  discloses  itself  in  a  manner  exceeding  the  power  of 
comprehension  of  the  wise  people  of  the  world. 

The  promise  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  to  Crescentia  was  com- 
pletely fulfilled  :  the  dark  night  was  followed  by  the  dawn 
of  day  in  the  soul  of  the  servant  of  Christ,  nay,  even  by  the 
bright  day  of  a  peaceful  evolution  of  a  close  and  still  closer 
union  with  Christ.  The  power  of  Satan  to  produce  exte- 
rior disturbance  was  altogether  broken  ;  and  the  deposi- 
tion of  the  former  Superioress  also  improved  her  exterior 
condition  in  the  convent.  Persecution  lost  its  harshness, 
although  it  still  revived  at  times,  through  the  talk  of  cred- 
ulous or  evil  people  ;  a  rooted  prejudice,  or  aversion,  does 
not  disappear  all  at  once,  and  many  considered  themselves 
justified  in  asserting  that  she  had  at  least  been  deceived  by 
Satan,  from  some  singular  occurrences  that  took  place. 
This  occasioned  many  painful  examinations  and  evil  re- 
ports against  her,  which  Mother  Johanna — however  much 
she  loved  Crescentia,  and  was  for  her  own  part  convinced 
of  her  virtue — did  not  repress,  for  important  reasons. 
She  herself  treated  her  with  a  strict  and  wholesome  severi- 
ty. In  this  she  was  confirmed  and  assisted  by  the  Rev. 


The  Redemption.  69 

Father  Provincial,  '  who  had  commanded  her,  when  she 
assumed  the  office,  to  mortify  Crescentia,  wherever  and 
whenever  she  could,  to  exercise  her  in  obedience  by  laying 
on  her  harsh  and,  according  to  the  natural  reason,  irration- 
al commands  ;  she  should  even,  when  she  judged  her  inno- 
cent, impose  strict  and  humiliating  penances  on  her  and 
never  speak  a  friendly  word  to  her.  This  ordinance  of  the 
Father  Provincial  was  not  only  appropriate,  it  was  neces- 
sary :  souls  walking  in  such  extraordinary  paths  must  be 
strictly  and  severely  tried,  that  a  safe  judgment  may  be 
arrived  at,  as  to  whether  their  spirit  really  is  from  God. 
And  when  this  has  been  ascertained,  they  must,  for  the 
sake  of  their  own  selves,  be  exercised  in  heroic  virtues, 
namely,  in  humility  and  privation  of  all  the  natural  af- 
fections of  the  heart  and  mind,  as  a  protection  against 
the  dangers  of  self-aggrandizement  and  self-esteem,  and  to 
afford  them  occasions  and  inducements  to  prove  their 
fidelity  towards  the  Giver  of  all  grace,  by  thus  conquering 
themselves.  Humility  and  obedience  are  alike  the  only 
sure  touchstone  of  spirits,  and  the  best  means  Of  advance- 
ment. The  carrying  out  of  these  orders  was  a  greater 
conquest  to  the  heart  of  the  Mother  Superioress,  than  the 
trials  were  to  Crescentia,  who  had  to  undergo  them. 
To  use  a  Sister  she  so  dearly  loved  harshly,  nay,  appar- 
ently unjustly,  was  very  grievous  to  her.  But  obedi- 
ence and  the  conviction  that  this  was  the  best  treatment  for 
her,  did  not  permit  her  to  doubt  that  this  was  God's  will. 

After  many  years  she  used  to  say  '  to  the  other  Sisters, 
with  tears  in  her  eyes,  that  she  believed  no  one  had  been 
so  severely  tried  in  every  way  as  Crescentia,  and  that  she 
had  often  been  afraid  she  had  gone  beyond  the  due  limits 
with  her  ;  had  been  apprehensive  that  Crescentia  might 
lose  courage,  but  that  she,  on  the  contrary,  had  endured  the 
hardest  trials  and  had  always  been  tranquil,  cheerful,  and 
ready  for  every  new  one.  In  short,  she  sooner  became 
weary  of  issuing  such  commands  than  Crescentia  of  oboy- 

1  Summ.  N.  15.  §  42.  •'  Summ.  N.  15.  §  186. 


70          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ing  them.  At  a  later  period  we  shall  hear  more  of  this, 
and  at  the  same  time  see  how  God  rewarded  such  marvel- 
lous virtue  with  equally  marvellous  success,  which  He  made 
known  to  the  public. 

We  may,  as  St.  Augustine  remarks,  conceal  truth  for  a 
time,  but  never  conquer  it ;  it  will  at  length  burst  forth 
only  the  more  gloriously  through  the  clouds  with  which 
wickedness  and  ignorance  have  darkened  it.  This  was 
verified  in  Crescentia.  All  the  doubts  which  her  Superiors 
had  entertained,  especially  concerning  her  ecstasies  and 
revelations,  vanished  by  degrees,  for  God  Himself  bore  tes- 
timony to  her  worth  in  an  unmistakable  manner.  Rev. 
Father  Provincial  Sebastian  Hoss  became  aware  of  this 
in  the  following  manner  : ' 

As  he,  in  November,  1716,  was  holding  the  visitation  of 
the  convent,  and  could  not  come  to  a  definite  decision  con- 
cerning the  spirit  of  the  servant  of  God,  he  thought  he 
might  ask  of  God  Himself  a  proof  of  her  supernatural 
graces.  He  was  alone  in  the  reception-room  and  wished 
to  seal  a  letter,  when  the  thought  came  into  his  mind  : 
"  If  Sister  M.  Crescentia  should  come  in  at  this  moment 
without  being  summoned,  with  a  lighted  candle,  I  will 
consider  this  as  a  sign  that  she  is  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God." 
Thereupon  he  actually  commanded  her,  though  only  in 
thought,  to  bring  him  a  light.  A  few  moments  later, 
there  was  a  tap  on  the  door,  and  Crescentia  came  into  the 
room  with  a  lighted  taper.  He  suppressed  his  surprise  and 
said  simply  :  "What  is  that  for,  Crescentia  ?  It  is  broad 
day-light  and  you  bring  me  a  light."  She  replied  :  "And 
does  not  your  reverence  want  a  lighted  taper  to  seal  your 
letter  with  ?  I  felt  an  impulse  to.  bring  it  to  you."  With- 
out saying  a  word  to  her,  the  Provincial,  now  fully  con- 
vinced of  her  virtue,  related  the  circumstance  to  the 
Superioress  and  the  other  Sisters,  and  concluded  by  say- 
ing :  "  Crescentia  is  truly  and  genuinely  pious  ;  God  is 
with  her  and  leads  her." 

1  Summ.  N.  21, 1  34, 104, 167. 


Her  Religious  Life,  71 

Had  we  in  our  light  trials  only  a  little  firmness  of  faith 
and  patience,  then  after  our  short  sufferings  we  should  be 
able  to  repeat  with  a  joyful  heart  the  words  of  Holy  Writ  : 
"For  Thou  (0  God)  art  not  delighted  in  our  being  lost ; 
because  after  a  storm  Thou  makest  a  calm,  and  after  tears 
and  weeping  Thou  pourest  in  joy  fulness.  Be  Thy  name, 
0  God  of  Israel,  blessed  forever." ' 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
Her  Religious  Life. 

]0  pray,  to  work,  and  to  suffer,  these  comprehend 
the  whole  circuit  of  the  forty-one  years  which 
Crescentia  passed  in  religion.  These  occupations, 
indeed,  fall  to  the  lot  of  every  religious,  and  thus  it  would 
appear  as  if  there  were  nothing  peculiar  in  respect  to  these 
related  of  Ven.  Crescentia.  And  yet  it  is  precisely  the 
manner  in  which  she  performed  this  treble  duty  that 
calls  forth  the  highest  degree  of  our  admiration.  Her 
bodily  frame  was  weak  and  tender,  but  her  iron  will,  her 
diligence,  and  skill  enabled  her  to  execute  the  work  and  busi- 
ness of  the  community  of  every  description  to  the  general 
satisfaction.  During  the  first  years  she  spent  in  the  convent, 
she  worked  in  the  kitchen  and  at  other  toilsome  labor  ;  she 
also  wove  the  Sisters'  clothing,  and  taught  the  art  of  weav- 
ing to  others  of  the  Sisterhood. 

Thus  she  was  almost  the  whole  day  engaged  in  labor 
of  some  sort,  but  her  heart  was  still  more  occupied  with 
God  than  was  her  hand  \yith  work.  For  from  her  very 
youth  she  had — they  say  instructed  by  her  guardian  angel 
— acquired  the  sublime  art,  until  it  became  a  habit,  of 
honoring  the  divine  mysteries  by  interior  intentions,  while 
occupied  in  exterior  matters.  All  her  confessors  have  ex- 
pressed their  surprise  at  her  manner,  which  was  unique  in 

1  Tob.  til.  22,  2:1. 


72          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

its  kind,  of  forming  at  every  kind  of  work,  and  oil  every 
occasion,  with  inexhaustible  fertility  and  a  playful  facility, 
the  sublimest  reflections  and  intentions.  Her  soul  lived 
so  entirely  in  the  supernatural  order,  faith  illumined  her 
interior  life  so  brightly,  and  the  life  and  sufferings  of 
Christ  were  so  deeply  impressed  on  her  heart,  that  all  she 
said,  thought,  or  did,  was  stamped  with  the  word  of  the 
Apostle:  "Christ  is  all  and  in  all."'  In  everything 
she  saw  or  heard,  in  everything  she  did  herself,  or  saw 
others  do,  there  was  mirrored,  to  her  spiritual  eye,  some 
mystery  of  the  supernatural  world  ;  she  discovered  simili- 
tudes to  the  divine  in  objects  the  most  remote,  where  an 
ordinary  person  would  see  a  mere  nothing,  and  therefore 
would  consider  conclusions,  which  were  natural  and  spon- 
taneous in  her,  as  far-fetched  and  almost  forced  analogies. 
For  instance,  when  she  was  weaving  and  throwing  the 
shuttle  to  and  fro,  she  would  remember  the  stripes  Christ 
had  received  at  the  pillar  of  scourging,  and  would  offer 
them  up  to  the  heavenly  Father  with  the  petition  to  be  per- 
mitted to  receive  the  same  strokes.  If  she  were  scrubbing 
the  kitchen-floor,  she  would,  in  spirit,  gather  up  the  blood 
of  the  Redeemer  running  to  the  ground  from  the  scourg- 
ing ;  when  winding  up  the  clock  she  would  wish  that  the 
movements  of  the  wheel-work  might  become  a  sweet  music 
before  the  throne  of  God;  when,  according  to  her  custom 
and  great  love  for  poverty,  she  gathered  the  splinters  of 
wood  which  were  scattered  in  the  yard  and  carried  them 
to  the  fire,  that  they  might  serve  the  end  for  which  they 
were  created,  her  intention  was,  either  to  kindle  a  fire  of 
love  to  her  Redeemer,  or  to  present  Him  with  a  golden 
sceptre  and  do  homage  to  Him  as  the  King  of  kings. 

These  few  examples/  taken  from  the  papers  written  by 
her  disciples,  will  give  to  the  reader  an  idea  of  the  manner 
in  which,  throughout  the  day,  while  her  hands  were  at 
work,  her  heart  was  ever  with  God.  These  sublime  inten- 
tions, practised  with  an  ease  and  variety  which  seem  inoredi- 

1  Col.  Hi.  11.  "  floo<l  lnT»'iitl<m>  of  Vni.  MnM.r 


Her  Religious  Life.  73 

ble  to  us  of  the  lower  grade,  will  go  far  to  explain  why  she 
was  so  often  rapt  in  ecstasy,  was  in  actual  conference 
with  heavenly  persons,  and  actually  received  divine  visions. 

With  regard  to  temporal  necessities  and  everything  else 
-around  her,  she  seemed  to  forget  them  or  to  remember 
them  only  as  the  duty  of  charity  or  of  obedience  required. 
Prayer,  contemplation,  spiritual  reading,  pious  conversa- 
tions, formed  her  sole  recreation  and  spiritual  nourish- 
ment. Spiritual  hymns  and  music  she  loved  very  much, 
not  for  the  sake  of  the  pleasure  they  give  the  senses,  but 
because  they  impart  to  the  spirit  a  new  impetus  to  soar  on 
high.1  Her  heart  was  then  on  fire  with  the  longing  for 
the  eternal  harmonies  and  with  love  for  Him  who  com- 
prises within  Himself  all  sweetness  and  all  harmony.  A 
tune  played  by  an  instrument,  or  sung  by  a  human  voice, 
was  sufficient  to  set  the  chords  of  her  heart  in  motion,  and 
cause  them  to  vibrate  to  the  praise  and  love  of  God. 

"  My  God,  "  she  would  say,  "  Thou  Creator  and  Begin- 
ning of  all  things  !  this  little  creature  praises  Thee  after  its 
own  fashion,  by  sending  forth  this  tune  to  Thee.  Praise 
be  to  Thy  infinite  power  by  which  Thou  didst  create  it ; 
praise  be  to  Thy  wisdom,  by  which  Thou  dost  regulate 
it ;  praise  be  to  Thy  eternal  goodness,  by  which  Thou  dost 
sustain  it  every  moment.  And  since  this  creature  is  un- 
able to  offer  itself  to  Thee,  therefore  do  I  present  and  offer 
it  to  Thee  as  Thy  creature  and  the  work  of  Thy  hands." 

Some  years  after  the  persecution  had  stopped,  and  when 
her  virtues  were  acknowledged,  she  was  made  portress  of 
the  convent.  For  sixteen  years  she  filled  this  office,"  dis- 
charging it  with  so  much  fidelity  and  virtue  that  every  one 
wondered  how  she  could  unite  the  greatest  propriety  and 
love,  with  the  strict  reserve  becoming  a  portress,  in  such 
a  manner  that  she  did  not  offend  any  one,  but  rather  edi- 
fied all. 


1  Gabriel,  p.  245. 

2  It  is  thus  stated  in  a  document  subscribed  with  the  names  of  many  Sisters, 
Aug.  '-J4, 1752    while  others  affirm  that  she  ••crvi-.l  <vvt>nt«iti  \vars  in  that  office. 


74          7  he  Life  of  Ven,  Mary  Crescentia. 

Every  unnecessary  conversation  she  knew  how  to  avoid  ; 
even  when  her  beloved  old  parents  came  to  the  convent- 
gate,  which  seldom  happened,  she  would  not  converse  with 
them  till  she  had  obtained  an  express  permission  to  do  so. 
The  poor,  who  were  to  her  the  representatives  of  Crucified 
Love,  she  treated  with  the  same  veneration  and  charity  as 
if  Christ  Himself  had  been  personally  present  to  accept 
the  tribute  of  her  love.  She  preferred  converse  with  the 
poor  and  needy,  rather  than  that  with  the  rich.  She  found 
means  to  obtain  many  extra  gifts  for  the  poor  besides  the 
usual  alms,  and  shared  these  among  them  with  so  friendly 
a  countenance  and  such  loving  words  that  her  foster-chil- 
dren, as  these  beggars  were,  gave  her  the  beautiful  name 
of  "  Mother  of  the  Poor."  They  were  inconsolable  when 
she  was  removed  from  the  office  of  portress. ' 

Other  more  important  offices  were  now  intrusted  to  her. 
She  became  Mistress  of  Novices  for  many  years,  and  for 
the  three  last  years  of  her  life  was  Mother  Superior.  How 
she  fulfilled  the  duties  of  these  two  offices  we  will  re- 
late in  separate  chapters.  She  was  infirmarian  from  five 
to  six  years,  and  for  a  time  was  guest-mistress,  receiving 
such  strangers  as  were  admitted  to  enjoy  the  hospitality  of 
the  convent.  She  was  indefatigable  in  her  fulfilment  of 
all  these  offices  ;  and  yet  her  frail  body  became  constantly 
weaker,  and  she  was  often  tormented  with  almost  un- 
endurable pains.  She  suffered  severely  from  head-ache 
and  tooth-ache  from  the  first  years  of  her  religious  life  to 
the  time  of  her  death  ;  her  face  and  head  were  for  the 
most  part  greatly  swollen  from  this  cause  ;  violent  fever 
often  rendered  her  unable  to  stand  on  her  feet.  To  this 
was  added  that  she  often  heard  evil-disposed  persons 
assert  that  her  sicknesses  were  but  idleness  or  assumed,  or 
at  least  that  she  was  but  a  burden  to  the  community  and  a 
stumbling-block  to  the  other  Sisters. 

The  fortitude  of  her  soul,  which  never  lost  its  peace  or 

1  Summ.  N.  10.  S  47  and  437. 


Her  Religious  Life.  75 

even  its  cheerfulness  for  a  moment,  is  really  admirable.  To 
a  priest  of  the  Order  who  found  this  incomprehensible,  she 
replied  in  deep  humility  : '  "I  can  do  all  things  in  Him  who 
streugtheneth  me.  He  is  the  Lord  who  works  in  nothing- 
ness. Who  can  injure  me,  when  God  is  my  Helper  ?  To 
Him  I  give  myself  utterly,  for  time  and  for  eternity." 

Her  bodily  sufferings  increased  year  by  year,  disclosing 
symptoms  often  inexplicable  to  the  physicians.  A  burning 
heat  consumed  her  veins,  creating  a  continual  thirst  which 
she  increased  by  refraining  from  drink.  Violent  pains  in 
the  side  frequently  beset  her  so  that  she  could  not  stir  a 
step.  Medical  aid  was  ineffective  in  her  behalf,  while  on 
the  contrary,  she  at  times  recovered  suddenly,  unexpectedly 
to  every  one.  Let  us  listen  to  some  reports  on  these  mat- 
ters, and  first  to  one  drawn  up  by  the  confessor  of  the  con- 
vent at  that  time.  "  In  the  month  of  February,  1718, a 
Sister  M.  Crescentia  was  seized  with  a  very  dangerous  fever, 
that  was  occasioned  by  inflammation  of  the  interior  parts, 
in  which,  but  especially  in  the  heart,  she  felt  extreme  heat, 
accompanied  by  intense  thirst  and  sleeplessness,  while  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  body  were  cold  and  freezing.  I  supposed, 
from  the  weak  and  sanguine  temperament  of  this  Sister, 
this  sickness  would  result  in  death,  especially  as  no  medi- 
cine took  any  effect  on  her,  and  finally  all  human  aid  had 
to  be  laid  aside.  Seeing  there  was  such  small  hope  of  her 
recovery,  we  directed  our  attention  to  endeavor  to  prepare 
her  for  eternity  by  administering  the  holy  Viaticum  and 
Extreme  Unction.  But  when,  humanly  speaking,  there  was 
no  hope  left,  Divine  Goodness  restored  her  almost  instan- 
taneously to  health.  On  the  4th  of  February  she  told  me 
that  her  Divine  Spouse  had  said  to  her,  that  on  the  follow- 
ing day  she  should  suddenly  be  restored  to  health,  and  at 
the  time  appointed  for  hearing  Mass,  she  should  rise  from 
her  bed  free  from  all  pain. 

"  I  hereby  certify  that  this  prediction  was  fulfilled  to  the 

J  Siimm.  N.  16.  §  35,  73.  «  Act  B.  Summ.  Add.  pp.  8,  9. 


76          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

letter,  that  the  aforenamed  Sister  was  suddenly  cured  in  my 
presence  and  before  my  eyes,  and  so  thoroughly  healed  that 
it  was  as  if  she  had  never  l>een  sick  ;  that  she  rose  from  her 
bed  and  heard  Mass.  We  ctould  not  sufficiently  express  our 
wonder  and  admiration  that  God  should  have  granted  so 
great  a  favor,  and  healed  this,  His  creature,  in  so  marvel- 
lous a  manner. 

"In  witness  whereof,  1  affix  my  own  signature  and  seal  to 
this  attestation,  this  24th  day  of  February,  1718.  (Signed) 
Philip  James  Meichelbeck,  Doctor  of  Theology,  parish 
priest  of  Kemuath,  and  at  the  time  Confessor  in  Ordinary 
of  the  convent  of  Mayrhoff,  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis. " 

In  an  equally  wonderful  manner,  she  was  cured  of  a  very 
dangerous  sickness  in  1742,  which  will  be  related  in  Chap- 
ter II.,  Book  III. 

Once  she  was  suddenly  healed  of  a  very  painful  malady 
in  her  foot.1  Her  right  foot  had  become  stiff  and  was  so 
much  contracted  with  the  great  pain  it  had  suffered,  that 
she  could  not  put  it  to  the  floor.  When  she  went  to  receive 
Holy  Communion,  Sister  Felicitas  Kempter  and  Sister 
Elizabeth  Krunner,  one  on  each  side,  supported  or  rather 
carried  her  to  the  Oratory  and  back  again  to  the  kneeling- 
bench.  But  immediately  after  that  the  whole  malady  dis- 
appeared in  a  moment,  so  that  she  could,  without  inconven- 
ience, leave  the  Church  without  help  and  attend  to  her  own 
affairs.  According  to  a  statement  of  Mother  Superior  Sis- 
ter M.  Johanna, who  asked  for  particulars  of  this  occurrence, 
Christ  had  appeared  to  Crescentia  immediately  after  Holy 
Communion,  and  touching  her  foot  with  His  divine  hands, 
had  healed  it.  Her  numerous  attacks  of  sickness  at  length 
unfitted  her  for  laborious  employments,  although  they  in  no 
wise  affected  the  elasticity  of  her  mind,  or  hindered  her  un- 
interrupted prayer,  which  was  never  disturbed,  either  by  ex- 
terior works  or  by  bodily  pains,  which  but  increased  their 
merit.  The  principle  which  was  often  on  her  lips,  that  "  all 


1  According  to  a  document  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  Convent,  and  subscribed 
by  the  two  Sisters  named  in  the  text,  April  9,  174s. 


Her  Religious  Life.  77 

time  not  spent  in  prayer  is  lost/'  spurred  her  onwards  to 
dedicate  every  available  moment  to  this  holy  exercise. 

The  usual  routine  of  her  daily  life  while  in  the  convent 
was  as  follows  :  At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  often 
earlier,  nay,  at  midnight,  when  the  Superioress  permitted  it, 
she  arose,  and  either  in  her  cell  or  in  the  Church,  prayed  and 
meditated  till  four  o'clock,  when  the  Sisters  were  called. 
She  was  always  the  first  in  the  choir.  The  severest  winter 
cold  could  not  hinder  her  from  rising  thus  early  and  re- 
maining in  the  unwarmed  rooms  ;  she  never  missed  attend- 
ance in  the  choir,  unless  chained  to  her  bed  by  mor- 
tal sickness.  Even  when  she  was  so  sick  that  she  could 
not  go  alone  to  Church,  which  was  often  the  case  in  later 
years,  she  accepted  the  assistance  of  a  Sister,  to  drag 
herself  along  to  the  beloved  spot.  There,  before  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  all  weakness  and  pain  seemed  to  dis- 
appear and  a  supernatural  strength  enabled  her  to  ac- 
complish what  healthy  and  robust  persons  would  find  diffi- 
culty in  doing.  Motionless  and  without  leaning  against 
anything,  she  would  kneel  for  hours  as  if  she  had  no  body. 
She  recited  the  Office  with  angelic  devotion,  and  pre- 
pared herself  most  fervently  for  Holy  Communion,  which, 
from  the  year  1723  to  her  happy  death,  she  received  every 
day.  After  that  she  tarried  as  long  as  obedience  per- 
mitted in  her  prie-dieu,  which  was  curtained  off  from 
the  gaze  of  the  public,  and  she  was  then  generally  in  an 
ecstatic  state.  In  later  years,  the  Sisters  used  to  leave 
her  to  her  devotions,  which  generally  continued  till  noon. 
They  avoided  disturbing  her,  partly  that  they  might  not 
lose  the  fruit  of  such  prayers,  partly  because  she,  suffering 
so  much  bodily  sickness  that  she  was  not  able  to  do  much 
work,  would  not  feel  her  suffering  so  acutely  while  at  prayer. 

The  rest  of  her  time  she  employed  in  common  work 
and  exercises,  and  during  the  last  years  of  her  life,  in  ad- 
vising and  consoling  persons  of  every  state  and  condition 
of  life,  who  came  flocking  to  her  for  help  and  counsel. 
All  her  free  time  she  spent  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 


78          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

where  this  enlightened  soul  had  built  her  tabernacle,  and 
there,  in  a  manner  far  surpassing  our  understanding,  she 
found  the  fulfilment  of  St.  Peter's  words :  "  Lord,  it  is 
good  for  us  to  be  here."  ' 

Obedience  and  love  alone  could  induce  her  to  be  with 
others,  for  she  cautiously  avoided  every  diversion,  every  idle 
word,  every  loss  of  time,  and  when  she  deemed  that  she  had 
committed  the  least  fault  in  these  respects,  she  wept  bitterly 
for  it.  As  long  as  she  had  no  office  imposing  on  her  the  duty 
of  watching  over  others,  she  literally  fulfilled  the  wise  counsel 
of  St.  John  of  the  Cross  :  "  Think  that  God  and  thou  are 
the  only  ones  in  the  convent."  She  seemed  to  see  nothing 
save  her  own  sins,  as  she  expressed  it,  and  to  hear  nothing 
but  the  voice  of  her  Beloved  in  her  heart. 

Once  only  she  made  an  exception.  *  The  great  poverty  of 
the  community  compelled  the  Sisters  to  gain  their  living  by 
manual  labor.  This  had  given  rise  to  the  abuse  which  had 
been  confirmed  by  the  custom  of  many  years'  standing,  that 
a  part  of  the  office,  namely  Vespers  and  Compline,  was  not 
recited  in  the  Chapel  but  in  the  room,  while  they  were  at 
work.  Scarcely  had  Mother  M.  Johanna  assumed  her  offi- 
cial duties,  than  Sister  M.  Crescentia,  usually  so  bashful 
and  reticent,  and  at  that  time  one  of  the  youngest,  besides 
always  considering  herself  the  last,  went  to  her,  stating  very 
emphatically,  though  very  respectfully,  that  it  was  the  will 
of  God  that  this  abuse  should  be  done  away  with,  and  that 
the  office  should  be  recited  in  the  Church.  God,  she 
affirmed,  would  reward  the  act  with  His  choicest  blessing. 

This  decisive  step  surprised  the  Mother  Superior  not  a 
little ;  at  once  she  put  a  stop  to  the  irregularity,  and  the 
promised  blessing  followed  at  once,  abundantly  and  visi- 
bly, so  that  Mother  Johanna,  in  her  old  age,  speaking  of 
this  turning  point,  when  they  had  been  by  frequent  alms 
gradually  relieved  from  their  financial  embarrassments,  cer- 
tifies that  the  abundant  blessing  of  God,  both  in  temporal 
and  spiritual  affairs,  which  was  received  by  the  community 

1  Mattb.  ivll.  4.  •'  summ.  N.  16.  8  st7.    N,  20,  0  23. 


Her  Religious  Life.  79 

from  the  beginning  of  her  holding  office  as  Superioress, 
was  to  be  ascribed  to  the  holy  life  and  the  prayers  of  Sister 
M.  Crescentia.  "  I  best  know,"  she  said,  "what  poverty 
and  want  of  everything  there  was  in  the  convent  before  she 
entered,  and  I — when  I  accepted  my  office — found  only 
half-a-florin '  in  the  treasury.  If  I  had  not  had  Crescentia 
here,  I  would  not  have  known  what  to .  do  to  find  a  way 
out  of  our  poverty  and  want."  For  this  reason  this  worthy 
Mother  Superior  used  to  have  recourse  to  the  prayers  of  her 
spiritual  daughter  in  every  pressing  emergencj ;  she  always 
found  help  from  above  and  very  often  in  a  manner  that 
bordered  on  the  miraculous. 

When  in  want  of  funds,  there  came  just  at  the  right  time, 
from  unknown  persons  living  at  a  distance,  considerable 
pecuniary  alms.  Disastrous  storms  of  hail  and  overwhelm- 
ing floods  of  rain  spared  the  convent  gardens  and  fields, 
while  they  spread  devastation  all  around ;  and  not  only  the 
Superioress,  but  all  the  Sisters  acknowledged,  taught  by  a 
long  experience,  that  the  food,  such  as  flour,  butter,  lard, 
bread,  and  the  like,  when  committed  to  the  charge  of  Cres- 
centia, the  servant  of  God,  multiplied,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  in  her  hands,  so  as  to  go  farther  than  they  would  nat- 
urally have  done.  This  was  particularly  noticeable  when 
as  portress  she  distributed  bread  and  other  food  among  the 
poor.  The  provision  was  often  out  of  all  proportion  small 
when  compared  to  the  number  of  the  mendicants  ;  she 
raised  her  heart  to  the  heavenly  Father  of  the  poor  and  it 
came  to  pass  that  not  only  was  there  enough  to  satisfy  all 
the  poor,  but  there  was  yet  much  remaining.  Father  Ott  * 
relates  one  case  in  particular  : 

One  day  there  came  unexpectedly  such  a  rush  of  people 
from  the  city  and  the  neighboring  villages,  that  the  provi- 
sion, which  had  already  been  cut  into  portions,  was 
very  far  from  being  enough  to  go  round.  Crescentia,  full 
of  faith,  called  on  Him  who  with  five  loaves  and  two  fishes 
had  satisfied  five  thousand  persons  ;  she  then  broke  what  she 

1  About  twenty-five  cents.  *  Ott,  p.  54. 


8o         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

had  with  her,  and  not  only  not  a  single  poor  person  went 
empty  away,  but  there  was  a  remarkable  quantity  left,  a  fact 
utterly  inexplicable  to  those  present.  Confidence  in  the 
efficacy  of  her  prayers,  after  a  while,  became  general,  and 
it  was  especially  her  fellow-religious  who  had  recourse  to  her 
in  every  need  and  perplexity,  even  in  matters  of  no  appar- 
ent consequence.  A  few  instances  will  suffice  to  prove  this. 

One  Friday  on  the  feast  of  the  Portiuncula  (August  2d),  a 
day  on  which  many  visitors  were  accustomed  to  call  at  the 
convent,  and,  according  to  an  ancient  custom,  received 
hospitality,  the  Sisters,  notwithstanding  their  endeavors, 
had  not  been  able  to  procure  any  fish  for  the  guest-table.  In 
this  exigency  Sister  M.  Crescentia  was  again  called  upon  to 
help.  She  exhorted  them  to  trust  in  God,  who  was  well 
aware  of  their  needs,  and  added:  "  St.  Peter  will  certainly 
catch  abundance  of  fish."  These  words,  uttered  on  August 
1st,  referred  to  the  feast  of  that  day,  which  was  that  of  St. 
Peter  in  Chains.  Very  early  the  next  morning  a  great 
abundance  of  fine  fish,  which  had  not  been  ordered,  was 
delivered  at  the  convent  gate.  A  similar  thing  occurred 
when  Sister  M.  Joachim  was  superintendent  of  the  kitchen; 
she  was  a  disciple  of  Crescentia's  and  subsequently  suc- 
ceeded her  in  office.  One  day  she  was  in  trouble  because  she 
could  get  no  fish  ;  she  came  to  Crescentia,  who  replied  : 
"  My  dear  Sister,  you  worry  yourself  too  much  about  tem- 
poral affairs  ;  pray,  and  hope,  and  leave  it  to  God  to  pro- 
vide; we  shall  have  fish  enough."  And  so  it  turned  out  and 
that  in  a  manner  quite  unexpected  by  them. 

Another  time  the  altar  wine  that  had  been  ordered  was 
not  forthcoming;  and  their  stock  of  it  was  reduced  so  low 
that  there  was  not  enough  for  the  holy  Mass  on  the  follow- 
ing day.  When  the  Sisters  who  had  charge  of  the  cellar, 
Sister  M.  Anna  Xeth  and  Sister  M.  Rosa  Weber,  came  to 
tell  this  to  Crescentia,  who  was  then  Superioress,  she  admon- 
ished them  to  trust  in  God  and  sent  them  back  to  the  cel- 
lar. Father  Ott  says  that  they  begged  her  rosary  of  her, 
and  hung  it  through  the  bung-hole.  How  surprised  they 


Her  Religions  Life.  81 

were  to  find  the  cask,  which  they  had  found  empty,  pour 
forth  a  rich  pure  wine,  which  continued  to  flow  for  them  at 
need,  for  three  weeks;  it  dried  up,  however,  when  the  wine 
which  had  been  ordered  arrived. 

Some  of  the  Sisters  were  once  trying  to  lift  a  large  statue 
upon  the  high  altar,  from  which  it  had  been  taken  down. 
Its  weight  was  so  great,  however,  that  all  their  efforts  to 
do  so  were  unavailing ;  they  could  not  raise  it.  The  servant 
of  Grod  now  came,  and  just  laid  her  hand  on  the  image, 
when  immediately  it  raised  itself,  before  the  eyes  of  the 
astonished  Sisters,  and  settled  itself  in  the  right  place.  A 
little  picture  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  had  fallen  into  the  fire 
and  had  become  as  black  as  coal.  Crescentia  breathed  on 
it,  wiped  it  with  a  little  cloth,  and  it  became  at  once  bril- 
liant and  beautiful.  It  Avas  placed  in  the  choir,  where  every 
one  marvelled  at  it,  and  when  Crescentia  was  praying  before 
it,  several  Sisters,  among  whom  was  Joachima  Kogl,  after- 
wards Superioress,  remarked  that  tears  flowed  from  the  eyes 
of  the  picture.1  We  will  add  one  more  remarkable  case: 

A  countess  of  Vienna  had  made  her  a  present  of  a  very 
beautiful  Infant  Jesus,  formed  of  wax.  As  she  had  a 
special  devotion  to  the  Infant  Jesus,  she  wished  to  set  up 
the  image  in  the  Church  and  to  adorn  it  with  a  beautiful 
dress.  But  she  had  nothing  wherewith  to  pay  for  the  dress; 
nevertheless,  with  the  permission  of  the  Superioress,  she 
bought  it,  saying  :  "The  Divine  Child  will  certainly  pay 
for  it  Himself."  When  the  wax  figure  was  clothed  she 
brought  it  to  the  community  room  to  show  it  to  the  Sisters. 
Whilst  they  were  considering  it  with  pleasure  and  admira- 
tion, the  little  bell  of  the  convent-gate  rang.  The  portress 
returned  with  a  letter  to  Crescentia,  which  had  been  given 
her  by  an  unknown  person,  and  one  who  never  was  seen  by 
them  again.  The  letter  was  opened  in  the  presence  of  the 
Sisters  ;  it  contained  nothing  but  money;  and,  in  fact, 
neither  more  nor  less  than  the  price  of  the  dress;  with  one 

1  These  two  last  cases  are  taken  from  a  document  of  Mother  Joachima,  kept  In 
the  archives,  and  bearing  the  date  of  September  1st,  1753. 


82          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

voice,  all  the  Sisters  broke  out  with  the  exclamation:  "  See  ! 
the  Infant  Himself  has  sent  the  money."  The  reader  who 
is  possessed  of  the  true  faith,  will  willingly  assent  to  this 
exclamation,  and  rejoice  that  he  has  so  good  a  Father  in 
Heaven,  who  reveals  to  His  children,  even  in  small  matters, 
the  greatness  of  His  love,  provided  the  eye  is  simple  and 
the  heart  loving. 

Thus,  like  to  a  quiet  brook  in  a  lovely  meadow,  her  days 
flowed  on  in  peace,  in  their  monotonous  course,  all  unob- 
served by  the  outward  world.  Yet,  without  noticing  it, 
she  gradually  became  the  central-point  and  the  soul  of  the 
religious  community,  in  which  God  Himself  had  placed 
her.  No  heart  could,  for  any  length  of  time,  resist  her 
heart,  which  was  overflowing  with  love.  She  ruled  by  humil- 
ity and  charity.  "Would  that  true  love  held  the  sceptre  in 
ever}'  Christian  community,  then  the  kingdom  of  love,  to 
establish  which  Christ  came  on  earth,  would  quickly  take 
possession  of  the  whole  world. 

Great  as  was  her  severity  against  herself,  she  was  full  of 
tenderness  and  sweetness,  boundlessly  considerate  and  ac- 
commodating to  the  Sisterhood.  She  herself  loved  and 
practised,  to  a  high  degree,  solitude  and  silence,  yet  she  was 
anything  but  sad  and  gloomy,  for  she  was  ever  ready  to 
sympathize  with  others,  whether  in  joy  or  sorrow.  Her 
countenance,  even  when  enduring  the  greatest  suffering, 
presented  a  cheerful  mirror  of  peace  and  happiness,  which 
the  Holy  Ghost  communicated  to  her  heart.  In  all  the  ex- 
ercises of  the  convent,  and  especially  at  the  most  menial 
and  hardest  labors,  she  was  ever  the  first  and  the  last,  and 
the  most  active;  and  without  sufficient  reason  and  permis- 
sion she  was  never  absent  from  the  customary  recreations 
which,  like  salt  in  the  food,  can  never  be  dispensed 
with  in  convent  life  without  spiritual  loss.  At  recrea- 
tion she  was  ever  pleasant  and  amiable,  and  understood 
how  to  combine  cheerfulness  with  edification.  She  was 
rich  in  original  thoughts  and  imagery,  and  did  not  hesitate 
to  indulge  in  jokes  and  witticisms  for  the  amusement  of 


Her  Religious  Life.  85 

her  Sisters.  •»  As  soon  as  she  had  engaged  her  Sisters  in 
cheerful  conversation,  she  would  withdraw  from  it  herself, 
leaving  it  to  others  to  carry  it  on,  yet  so  directing  it  as  to 
conduce  to  edification.  Like  a  true  daughter  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, she  was  much  pleased  to  see  the  Sisters  enjoying  them- 
selves, but  doing  so  in  the  Lord. 

She  even  acquired  the  difficult  art  of  rendering  glad  the 
whole  circle  surrounding  her,  by  raising  what  was  merely 
a  natural  hilarity  to  God,  and  by  intermingling  ordinary 
conversation  with  heavenly  harmonies.  At  the  close  of 
a  recreation  the  Sisters  would  often  say  : '  "Now  we  are 
entirely  refreshed  in  mind  and  body."  Nay,  they  even 
acknowledged  that  they  left  the  recreations,  which  she  had 
conducted,  more  recollected  and  with  greater  elevation  of 
spirit,  than  when  they  rose  from  their  ordinary  prayers. 

We  have  no  reliable  account  of  the  development  of  her 
interior  life,  no  chronological  particulars  of  time  or  of 
the  gradations  she  passed  through.  Isolated  traits  are 
abundantly  related,  but  without  indicating  the  time  when 
they  occurred.  We  are,  therefore,  compelled  to  abandon 
the  chronological  order,  and  in  the  following  Book,  simply 
seek  to  unite  her  characteristics  so  as  to  form  a  picture  of 
her  several  virtues.  In  Book  Third  we  will  again  take 
up  the  narrative.  A  short  description  of  her  person  may 
appropriately  close  this  Book  and  introduce  the  second. 

The  most  complete  and  most  reliable  description  of  Cres- 
centia's  appearance  is  given  in  Father  Ott's  book;8  he  says: 

Crescentia  was  of  medium  height  and  well  formed.  The 
expression  of  her  countenance  was  spiritual,  cheerful,  and 
frank,  while  full  of  earnestness  and  dignity  ;  her  com- 
plexion was  delicate,  so  that  the  smallest  arteries  were  vis- 
ible. The  color  of  her  face  was  white,  yet  streaked  with 
a  tender  red.  Her  voice  was  very  melodious,  her  words 
easily  touched  the  heart.  Her  whole  demeanor  was  stamped 
with  a  maidenly  modesty  and  with  natural  grace,  joined 

1  Suinm.  N.  10.  8  207.  *  B.  IV.  Ch.  3. 


84          The  Life  of  lrcn.  Mary  Crrsccntiti. 

to  a  higher  religious  dignity,  so  that  a  single  glance  of  hers 
inspired  the  love  of  purity,  together  with  that  of  reverence 
and  attraction  to  herself.  It  was  palpable  that  in  such  a 
body,  only  a  noble  and  holy  soul  could  dwell." 

And  concerning  this  noble  soul,  it  is  beyond  all  doubt 
that  it  was  endowed  with  extraordinary  natural  qualities  ; 
that  she  possessed  a  clear  understanding,  quickness  of  com- 
prehension, a  faithful  memory,  and  a  very  fruitful  imagi- 
nation ;  she  could  with  great  ease  present  her  thoughts  in 
new  imagery  and  find  similitudes  for  the  spiritual  and 
corporal  world.  She  united  a  firm  will  to  a  very  tender 
heart.  These  natural  endowments,  however,  scarcely  de- 
serve mention,  in  comparison  with  the  wealth  of  grace  and 
virtue  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  lavished  upon  her.  The 
following  testimony  of  a  father  confessor  who  knew  her 
well  and  wrote  his  statement  during  her  life-time,  namely, 
in  1736,  may  give  the  reader  a  view  of  her  virtues  and 
thereby  introduce  and  render  credible  the  more  copious  de- 
tails given  in  Book  Second.  The  literal  translation  from 
the  Latin  runs  as  follows  : ' 

"I,  the  undersigned,  after  mature  deliberation,  with  full 
knowledge,  by  reason  of  two  years'  close  observation,  having 
been  for  that  length  of  time  confessor  to  the  Sisters  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  at  Kaufbeuren,  hereby  make 
the  statement  and  bear  witness  before  God,  as  if  I  were 
really  before  His  tribunal,  that  concerning  Sister  M.  Cres- 
centia  Hoss,  as  far  as  I  can  judge  after  a  careful  examina- 
tion, made  before  God  and  my  own  conscience,  that  not  the 
*  least  deception  or  imposition  exists.  On  the  contrary,  her 
extraordinary  and  profound  humility,  her  ever  ready  obe- 
dience in  all  things,  her  complete  resignation  in  number- 
less sufferings  and  pains,  both  interior  and  exterior,  her  in- 
satiable fervor  in  prayer,  both  vocal  and  mental,  with  the 
view  of  union  with  God,  her  extreme  abhorrence  of  any- 
thing that  could  sully  angelic  purity,  her  interior  nninter- 

1  Act  B.  Summ.  Add.  p.  12. 


Her  Religious  Life.  85 

rupted  recollections,  her  fervent  love  for  God  and  her  neigh- 
bor, moreover,  her  most  astonishing  readiness  to  and  prac- 
tice of  exalting  the  most  trivial  acts  and  ordinary  works  to 
the  sublimity  of  religiously  offering  up  her  intention  to  God 
while  performing  them,  in  a  word,  HER  TRULY  SERAPHIC 

LIFE  IS,  IN  ITSELF,  AN  EPITOME  OF  ALL  WHICH  THE  WORLD 
ADMIRES  AND  PRIZES  IN  ITS  GREATEST  SAINTS. 

"  Heaven  itself  bears  witness  to  this,  since  God  has  im- 
parted many  and  most  remarkable  graces,  in  a  wonderful 
manner,  to  those  persons  who  recommended  themselves 
to  the  prayers  of  Sister  Crescentia,  or  prayed  for  divine  help 
through  her  merits.  Of  which  events,  I,  myself,  although 
unworthy,  could  recount  some  of  my  own  experience. 
To  all  this  I  bear  witness  according  to  my  knowledge 
and  my  conscience,  on  my  priestly  honor  before  God,  in  my 
own  handwriting  and  sealed  with  my  ordinary  seal :  Kauf - 
beuren,  15th  of  September,  1736.  Bartholomew  Binner,  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  confessor  of  the  convent  of  Mayrhoff." 

Similar  testimonies  are  given  by  other  confessors.  Among 
these  is  one  dictated  to  his  superior  by  Father  Januarius 
Mayer,  S.  J.,  on  his  death-bed;  this  we  omit  and  add  only 
the  beautiful  words  of  her  last  confessor,  Father  Pamer,  who 
concludes  a  copious  report  as  follows  : '  "I  say  freely  and 
openly,  that  as  in  a  chain  one  ring  is  linked  in  another 
ring,  so  in  Crescentia  one  virtue  is  linked  to  another  vir- 
tue, and  one  sublime  act  of  heroism  follows  another,  till  the 
highest  degree  of  intensity  of  inward  force  and  fervor  is  at- 
tained, thus  forming  an  uninterrupted  chain  of  a  holy  life." 

How  poverty-stricken,  how  full  of  defects  and  contra- 
dictions, how  full  of  resolves  not  put  into  practice,  of  be- 
ginnings which  are  not  persevered  in,  are  the  lives  of  most 
of  those  who  are  even  called  pious  Christians  !  The  golden 
thread  of  grace  is  continually  being  broken.  "  BUT  THE 

PATH  OF  THE  JUST,  AS  A  SHINING  LIGHT,  GOETH  FORWARDS 
AND  INCREASETH  EVEN  TO  PERFECT  DAY."* 

1  Act  B.  Summ.  Add.  p.  12.  -  Prov.  iv-  18. 


Picture    of    Her    Virtues. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.1 

The  vital  power  of  a  tree  in  its  extension  and  duration 
depends  on  the  strength,  depth,  and  soundness  of  its  roots: 
in  like  manner  the  entire  development  of  the  supernatural 
life  in  Christ  depends  on  faith  which,  according  to  tfie 
Council  of  Trent "  is  "  the  beginning  of  man's  salvation, 
the  foundation  and  root  of  all  justification."  The  purer, 
firmer,  and  more  lively  this  faith  is,  the  more  brilliantly 
will  the  heavenly  flower  of  Christian  perfection  spring  forth 
from  this  root  of  life. 

The  Ven.  Crescentia  expresses  this  doctrine  in  these 
words  :  "  Faith  is  the  only  safe  road  that  leads  unerringly 
to  God,  and  that  gives  us  the  power  to  enjoy  Him  as  far  as 
it  is  permitted  us  to  do,  on  earth."  Convinced  of  this 
truth,  she  esteemed  the  grace  of  faith  above  all  other 
gifts.  Her  mouth  overflowed  with  inexhaustible  praises 
of  the  glories  of  faith  and  with  constant  gratitude  towards 
God  for  having  granted  to  her  the  grace  of  being  born  of 
and  brought  up  by  Catholic  parents,  and  that  in  a  city  in 
which  one-half  of  the  inhabitants  were  Protestants.  She 
frequently  repeated,  as  Sister  Gabriel  heard  from  her  own 
mouth  : '  "I  should  not  have  rejoiced  had  I  been  created 

1  Summ.  N.  7.  6  1-395  and  Act  B.  Inform.  N.  81-68. 
*  Sew.  vi.  cb.  5.  *  Gabriel,  p.  19. 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  87 

without  faith  ;  I  mean,  if  God  had  not  conferred  on  me- 
the  great  grace  of  making  me  a  member  of  the  true  Cath- 
olic Church,  for  which  grace  I  can  never  thank  Him  enough, 
not  even  throughout  eternity.  Faith  is  a  supernatural  gift 
of  God,  a  gift  far  greater  than  that  of  creation,  for  unbe- 
lievers are  also  created  by  God,  yet,  without  faith,  they 
cannot  be  saved/' 

From  this  great  value  which  she  set  on  faith,  combined 
with  that  interior  love  which  she  felt  for  all  men,  particu- 
larly for  her  fellow-citizens,  came  those  abundant  tears 
with  which,  to  the  hour  of  her  death,  she  bewailed  the  un- 
happy separation,  in  matters  of  faith,  which  kept  so  many 
of  ner  fellow-citizens  aloof  from  the  true  Church  founded 
by  Jesus  Christ.  Incessantly  she  offered  up  to  the  Father 
of  mercies,  prayers,  fastings,  and  severe  mortifications,  for 
the  souls  who  had  strayed  from  the  one  fold  of  Christ,  and 
with  glowing  words  she  admonished  her  fellow-Sisters,  par- 
ticularly the  novices,  to  do  the  like.  When  she  spoke  on 
this  subject,  her  countenance,  before  pale,  glowed  like  a 
rose,  large  tears  flowed  from  her  eyes,  and  she  was  frequent- 
ly checked  in  her  speech  by  inward  excitement,  or,  at  best, 
could  only  stammer  out  :  "  Oh,  would  that  every  one 
believed  in  God,  would  that  every  one  knew  God  well  \" 

This  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the  true  Faith  knew  no 
limitation  of  country.  It  embraced  the  unbeliever  and 
the  heretic  without  exception  :  no  sacrifice  appeared  too 
great  if  she  could  but  procure  the  grace  of  the  true  Faith 
to  a  single  one  :  it  was  her  daily  practice  to  offer  herself 
for  suffering,  nay,  even  for  a  cruel  death,  to  obtain  this 
end  ;  and  this  offering  was  not  a  mere  formula,  it  was  a 
strong,  ardent  desire,  springing  from  the  utmost  depths  of 
her  heart,  piercing  her  sonl  with  a  poignant  sorrow  that 
seemed  to  overmaster  every  other  feeling,  even  her  love  for 
solitude.  If  God's  will  had  not  opposed  it,  she  would  not 
have  been  able  to  withstand  the  longing  of  her  heart,  to  go 
into  foreign  countries  to  gain  souls  to  the  Faith,  by  shed- 
ding her  blood.  She  often  exclaimed  with  sobs;  "If  I 


88          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

were  not  a  woman,  I  would  go  by  the  next  vessel  to  the  In- 
dies, either  to  bring  Christ  to  the  heathen,  or  to  offer  to 
God  the  sacrifice  of  my  own  blood." 

What  she  could  not  accomplish  in  act,  she  supplied  for 
by  offering  up  burning  desires,  by  continual  prayers,  and  by 
severe  penances.  When  she  spoke  with  priests,  especially 
missionaries,  she  could  not  refrain  from  giving  vent  to  the 
ardor  of  her  soul,  beseeching  them  to  perform  the  duties 
of  their  high  calling  with  zeal  and  fervor,  and  to  endeavor 
to  propagate  the  Faith.  With  daily  prayers  she  accom- 
panied preachers  and  missionaries,  and  exhorted  her  Sisters 
in  religion  to  perform  this  same  duty  of  love  with  fervor. 
The  extension  of  the  kingdom  of  God  was  the  only  thing 
that  interested  her  here  below.  To  other  occurrences  and 
events  she  turned  a  deaf  ear,  but  no  sooner  was  faith  spoken 
of,  or  the  affairs  of  the  Church  became  the  subject  of  dis- 
course, than  she  was  all  attention.  If  on  these  occasions 
she  heard  of  conversions  and  of  progress  in  religion,  she 
rejoiced  in  the  Lord,  and  words  full  of  fire,  many  times 
repeated,  expressed  her  gratitude  to  the  Father  of  light, 
to  the  great  edification  of  all  present.  This  was  especially 
the  case  on  two  occasions :  the  one  when  a  whole  family  in 
her  native  city  was  converted  to  the  Church;  the  other  when 
she  heard  that  a  Protestant  child  had  died  in  his  baptismal 
innocence,  and  thus,  as  a  member  of  the  im-stical  body  of 
Christ,  had  received  the  heavenly  crown ;  at  this,  all  the 
sympathies  of  her  believing  heart  were  enlisted  and  rejoiced. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  she  heard  of  apostasies,  and  of 
scandals  in  the  Church,  every  heart  must  have  been  moved 
with  the  indescribable  sorrow  which  pierced  'her  heart,  vent- 
ing itself  in  bitter  sobs  and  moans  as  she  bewailed  the  tri- 
umph won  by  the  enemies  of  Christ  over  His  Church.  At 
such  times  she  could  only  regain  her  peace  by  prayer  and 
by  entire  submission  to  God's  holy  will. 

The  extraordinary  veneration  she  entertained  for  the 
holy  martyrs  also  had  its  origin  in  her  sublime  faith.  To 
sacrifice  one's  life,  to  shed  one's  blood  for  Christ,  she  held 


Faitk,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  89 

to  be  the  most  enviable  lot  for  a  Christian  ;  she  lamented 
bitterly  that  so  desirable  and  so  noble  a  lot  could  not  be 
her's,  on  account  of  her  unworthiness.  The  mere  mention 
of  martyrs  excited  within  her  feelings  of  joy,  of  admiration, 
of  longing  after  so  great  a  happiness,  to  so  great  a  degree 
that  she  could  not  master  the  exterior  expression  of  them. 
Afterwards,  she  would  relieve  herself  a  little  of  this  burn- 
ing fervor  by  bloody  scourgings  and  other  penitential  works, 
so  as  to  sacrifice,  in  some  way,  her  blood,  by  the  martyrdom 
of  love  through  the  martyrdom  of  faith.  Neither  sickness, 
weakness,  nor  age  could  restrain  her  from  this  voluntary 
martyrdom ;  recent  traces  of  it  were  even  noticed  on  her 
corpse.  On  the  feast-days  of  the  holy  martyrs  she  was,  as 
it  were,  almost  beside  herself,  and  reserved  as  she  usually 
was  in  the  expression  of  her  feelings,  the  power  of  the  spirit 
then  overleaped  all  bounds,  and  she  often  lavished  the  most 
ardent  praises  upon  the  witness  of  blood  afforded  by  the 
martyrs,  and  would  then  exhort  the  Sisters  to  aim  at  their 
happiness  and  partake  of  it  by  a  life  of  penance. 

What  has  been  said  is  sufficient  to  show  that  her  faith 
far  surpassed  the  ordinary  degree;  this  will  appear  still 
more  clearly  if  we  contemplate  how  pure  and  firm,  how  en- 
lightened, and  how  lively  this  virtue  was  in  her.  Her  faith 
was — holding  for  truth,  that  which  rested  on  one  founda- 
tion alone,  to  wit  :  The  authenticity  of  God,  the  first 
Truth — revealing  Himself  to  us.  Every  other  conclusion 
which  the  spirit  may  derive  from  its  own  reflections,  van- 
ished before  the  full  light  of  the  Divine  Truth  casting  its 
rays  into  her  soul  by  faith. 

Her  soul  was,  by  this  faith,  raised  far  above  the  natural 
feelings  and  imaginings,  above  purely  human  notions  and 
ideas,  above  the  consideration  due  to  natural  wisdom  and 
knowledge.  In  child-like  simplicity  she  raised  her  spiritual 
eye  to  the  Word  of  her  Father  in  Heaven,  clinging  fast  to 
the  Divine  Truth,  which  can  neither  err  nor  deceive.  She 
in  all  humility  sacrificed  her  intellect  to  this  first  and  high- 
est truth  with  so  much  resolution,  in  the  obedience  of 


9O          Tke  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcscentia. 

faith,  and  clung  with  such  firmness  to  this  first  source  of 
all  light,  that  the  certainty  of  faith  surpassed,  beyond  com- 
parison, every  other  certainty,  whether  coming  from  a  per- 
ception obtained  through  the  senses,  or  from  spiritual 
knowledge. 

She  found  a  special  consolation  in  repeating  the  Act  of 
Faith  many  times  a  day  in  these  or  similar  words  :  "  Thou, 
0  God,  who  art  the  all-knowing,  the  Eternal  Truth,  hast  said 
this  ;  I  believe  it  without  hesitation,  I  believe  it  absolutely." 
Or  :  "0  great  mysteries  of  the  Lord,  how  holy  and  Wonder- 
ful ye  are  !  I  will  always  truly  and  steadfastly  believe  in 
them  and  with  heart  and  mouth  confess  them."  By  this 
pure  faith,  free  from  every  mixture  of  her  own  thoughts 
and  affections,  she  overcame  the  dangers  on  the  way  of  the 
interior  life  which  lie  so  near  to  souls  who  pass  the  limits 
of  ordinary  virtue  and  who  on  that  account  are  frequently 
subject  to  a  reaction,  alternating  their  feelings  as  night 
succeeds  to  day.  Whether  her  soul  was  rapt  in  marvellous 
visions  of  light  and  beauty,  with  her  feelings  entranced  in 
ecstasy,  or  whether  she  was  groping  through  the  fearful 
death-like  shadows  of  spiritual  night,  her  spirit  was  ever 
elevated  above  all  these  transitory  occurrences  which  are 
infinitely  below  Divine  Truth,  following  the  admonition  of 
the  Apostle:  "  To  attend  (to faith)  as  to  a  light  that  shineth 
in  a  dark  place,  until  the  day  dawn  and  the  day-star  arise 
in  your  hearts."  ' 

Let  us  hear  what  she  herself  says,  respecting  these  ex- 
traordinary inspirations  :  "  I  prize  one  article  of  faith 
higher  than  all  revelations  to  myself  ;  in  these  I  could 
easily  be  deceived,  but  not  so  in  the  articles  of  faith,  in 
which  I  rely  on  the  infinite,  infallible  Truth."  Sister  M. 
Gabriel*  gives  a  more  detailed  account  of  her  principles  : 
"It  is,"  she  used  to  say,  "a  great  privilege,  indeed,  if 
Christ  appeared  to  any  one  ;  but  I  do  not  envy  such  a  per- 
son, because  faith  is  sufficient  for  me.  It  is  much  more 
meritorious,  if  we  believe  without  seeing,  for  we  cannot 

1  II.  Peter  1.  19,  '  Gabriel,  p.  vM. 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  91 

believe  in  the  visible  any  more,  because  we  see  it.  Let  us, 
therefore,  believe  in  the  invisible,  and  seek  by  faith  ;  for 
the  Gospel  calls  those  blessed  who  having  not  seen,  yet  be- 
lieve." She  acted  on  these  principles  with  regard  to  the 
many  supernatural  visions  and  colloquies  with  which  she 
was  favored,  however  full  of  light  they  might  be.  She  never 
permitted  herself  to  be  drawn  down  by  them,  from  the 
height  of  faith  which,  however  dark  it  may  appear  to  the 
groping  intellect,  is  in  itself  far  more  sublime  than  any- 
thing that  man  can  comprehend  in  a  natural  way,  and  is  at 
the  same  time  the  only  means  which  leads  to  an  intimate 
union  with  God.  On  the  contrary,  all  these  illuminations 
assisted  her  in  passing  beyond  them^  to  dive  more  deeply 
into  matters  of  faith,  and  to  adhere  more  firmly  to  the 
Word  of  the  Lord. 

The  purity  and  firmness  of  faith  is  best  tested,  at  such 
times  when  God  withdraws  every  other  light  from  the 
soul  and  places  it  in  what  St.  John  of  the  Cross  calls, 
"  the  dark  night."  Those  painful  trials,  in  which  the  soul, 
deprived  of  all  sensible  devotion,  has  nothing  to  rest  upon 
save  faith  alone,  plainly  show  how  firmly  this  virtue  must 
have  been  rooted  in  this  chosen  soul.  With  the  compass 
of  faith  for  her  guidance,  she  pursued  her  course  through 
the  darkness,  ever  directing  her  way  towards  God,  and 
seeking  Him  alone  with  ever-increasing  fervor.  This  ap- 
parent darkening  of  the  interior  light  served  but  to  bring 
out  her  faith  " from  glory  to  glory"1  until  it  arrived  at 
that  perfection  which  is  like  the  morning -dawn  of  that 
perfect  day  wherein  the  soul  sees  God  face  to  face. 

Saint  Bonaventure,  a  Doctor  of  the  Church,  distinguishes 
three  degrees  of  faith.8  The  first  degree  is  that  of  ordi- 
nary Christians  who,  being  without  high  learning  or  sanc- 
tity, accept  the  teachings  of  the  Church  as  the  Word  of 
God.  In  the  second  degree,  the  things  believed  are,  as  it 
were,  penetrated  by  a  higher  supernatural  power  commu- 
nicating the  gift  of  understanding.  The  third  degree  con- 

1  II.  Cor.  ill.  18.  -  DC  ^radibus  virtiitiiin. 


92  The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

sists  in  believing  as  if  the  things  believed  were  seen  by 
one's  own  eyes.  To  this  last  degree  the  Yen.  M.  Cres- 
centia  had,  beyond  all  doubt,  arrived.  The  Holy  Ghost 
had  given  her  such  a  fulness  of  His  gifts,  that  she  seemed 
not  so  much  to  believe  as  to  see  these  mysteries,  like 
Moses,  of  whom  St.  Paul  says  :  "  For  he  endured  as  see- 
ing Him  that  is  invisible."'  The  veil  which  keeps  the 
Holy  of  Holies  from  our  view,  here  on  earth,  was  not. 
indeed  withdrawn  for  her,  but  it  had  become  so  trans- 
parent that  no  bodily  eye  could  have  given  her  so  great  and 
so  perceptible  a  certainty  as  faith  did.  A  few  sayings  of 
hers  will  confirm  this  : 

"0  God/'  she  once  exclaimed,  "were  all  men  to  fall 
away  from  the  Faith,  yet  I  trust,  by  Thy  grace,  not  to 
wander  a  hairs-breadth  from  the  truth  which  Thou  hast 
revealed,  even  were  all  men  to  rise  up  against  me  and 
inflict  all  sorts  of  torture  upon  me  ;  for  I  know  and  be- 
lieve that  Thou,  0  my  God,  art  infallible  in  all  that  Thou 
hast  revealed,  and  by  Thy  Church  hast  proposed  to  our 
belief."  She  once  assured  the  Sisters  that  if  Jesus  Christ 
were  to  appear  visibly  in  a  Sacred  Host,  she  would  not,  if 
she  could  do  so  easily,  even  look  at  it,  but  would  shut  her 
eyes,  as  by  faith  she  had  an  infinitely  greater  certainty  of 
the  Lord's  presence  than  all  the  senses  of  the  body  could 
afford  her.  Faith  of  such  purity  and  firmness  was  nat- 
urally united  with  the  peace  and  consolation  which  St. 
Paul,  the  Apostle,  wishes  to  the  Romans  :  "Xow  the 
God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing, 
that  you  may  abound  in  hope  and  in  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.'" 

The  inward  light  governing  her  mind  inflamed  it  so 
thoroughly,  that  she  could  not  repress  the  deep  emotion 
she  experienced  when  a  mystery  of  faith  was  mentioned. 
This  was  frequently  noticed  by  all  at  the  spiritual  readings 
or  conversations.  Were  the  words,  Trinity,  Incarnation, 
Sacrament  of  the  altar  mentioned,  even  casually,  before 

1  Heb.  xi.  27.  »  Rom.  xv.  12. 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  93 

her,  she  would  change  color,  sometimes  turning  pale  as 
death,  at  other  times  becoming  crimson  ;  frequently  tears 
flowed  from  her  eyes,  nay,  often  her  nose  bled  profusely, 
and  at  times  she  became  completely  wrapt  in  ecstasy.  The 
word  "  Bethlehem "  produced  the  same  effect  upon  her. 
Once,  on  the  Vigil  of  Christmas,  when  it  was  her  turn 
to  read  at  table  the  announcement  of  the  Nativity  of 
Christ,  from  the  martyrology,  notwithstanding  all  her  ef- 
forts to  master  her  emotion,  she  could  only  utter  the  first 
words:  "To-morrow  Jesus  Christ  is" — when  her  voice 
was  choked  by  a  flood  of  tears .  She  was  carried  out  of  her- 
self, to  the  great  edification  of  her  fellow-Sisters  in  re- 
ligion. Another  Sister  had  to  continue  the  reading  ;  as 
soon  as  Crescentia  recovered  consciousness,  she  knelt  down 
to  acknowledge  her  fault  and  asked  for  a  penance. 

No  one,  without  being  edified,  could  observe  how  de- 
voutly, when  at  the  Divine  Office,  she  pronounced  the  words: 
"  Glory  be  to  the  Father,  etc.,"  lowly  bowing  her  head,  while 
her  countenance  became  brilliant.  She  then  felt  the  most 
ardent  desire  to  be  beheaded  for  God's  sake.  Once  she  ex- 
claimed :  "0  God  !  the  beauty  of  Thy  faith  darts  its 
rays  so  brightly  into  the  eyes  of  my  mind,  that  it  would 
be  no  wonder  if,  for  love  of  it,  I  should  entirely  melt 
away." 

The  illuminations  she  received  concerning  matters  of 
faith  conferred  on  her  such  a  knowledge  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture and  of  the  most  difficult  theological  questions,  that  all 
her  confessors  and  many  other  highly  educated  and 
learned  men  were  exceedingly  surprised  at  this  "  infused 
knowledge, "  as  it  is  called  by  theologians.  She  had  re- 
ceived but  a  scanty  education  in  the  elementary  schools,  and 
had  only  read  the  New  Testament  and  those  ascetical  books 
as  are  suitable  to  religious,  yet  she  could  speak  on  the  most 
profound  mysteries  of  religion  with  such  intuitive  clear- 
ness and  correctness  and  in  such  fitting  terms,  that  the 
most  learned  of  the  theologians  were  those  who  wondered 
at  hor  the  most. 


94          The  Life  of  l-'cn.  Mary  Crescentia. 

She  once  had  a  conversation  about  the  "  Magnificat " 
with  Father  Pamer,  and  from  its  words,  taken  singly,  she 
evolved  such  sublime  and  profound  mysteries,  and  did  it 
with  so  much  clearness,  grace,  and  unction,  that  he  was 
obliged  to  confess  that  he  had  never  heard  or  read  the 
like.  '  The  Father  Provincial,  Benjamin  Elbel,  O.S.F., 
bears  similar  testimony  to  this  prodigious  knowledge;  he  was 
certainly  u  competent  judge.  His  works  on  moral  theology 
are  well  known  to  Catholic  moralists,  and  are  in  use  up  to 
the  present  time. 8 

Holy  Writ  was  to  her  an  inexhaustible  ocean  of  light  and 
consolation.  The  Spirit  under  whose  influence  this  won- 
derful book  was  written,  dwelt  in  her  heart  by  holy  love, 
and  unlocked  and  unsealed  for  her  its  mystic  meanings,  in 
a  way  which  puts  to  shame  many  learned  men,  who  with 
profane  criticism  tear  to  pieces  the  letter  of  the  Holy 
Scripture,  as  the  Jews  did  the  Body  of  the  Lord,  without 
comprehending  any  of  its  spirit,  and,  having  no  spiritual 
life  in  themselves,  are  killed  by  the  letter.  She  had  a  spec- 
ial love  for  the  Holy  Gospels,  from  which  she  usually  took 
the  points  of  her  meditations.  She  almost  knew  them  by 
heart,  knew  where  to  find  any  text  therein  and  from  each 
separate  word  to  take  abundant  material  for  pious  reflec- 
tion and  instruction.  She  likewise  exhorted  her  Sisters  in 
religion  not  to  let  the  precious  treasure  of  Heaven  given  us 
in  the  Gospels  lie  unused,  but  to  read  them  diligently  and 
devoutly,  by  the  light  of  the  Catholic  Faith,  to  ponder  over 
every  word  and,  as  it  were,  to  chew  and  eat  it,  converting 
it  into  food  for  the  life  of  the  soul.  She  maintained  ' 
that  the  Gospels  were  of  themselves  sufficient,  without  any 
other  book,  to  instruct  and  urge  a  faithful  soul  to  sanctity. 
The  power  of  this  Divine  Word  penetrates  to  the  inmost 
depths  of  the  heart,  works  into  bone  and  marrow  ;  it  teaches 
us  how  to  love,  suffer,  and  act,  how  to  struggle  and  endure, 
and  how  in  patience  to  remain  faithful  to  the  Saviour  unto 
the  end. 

1  Ott.  B.  11.  Ch.  5.  "  Hi-  ili.-.l  June  1,  l"v..  »  Summ.  N.  81,  8  54. 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  95 

It  was  very  evident,  from  the  spiritual  conversations 
which  she  held  with  her  religious  Sisters,  and  especially 
with  the  novices,  that  she  herself  had  been  accustomed  to 
draw  heavenly  nourishment  from  this  Holy  Book.  She 
could  take  any  short  text  from  Holy  Scripture,  explain  it 
elaborately  in  all  its  bearings,  and  for  hours  together  dis- 
course on  it  in  so  edifying,  devout,  fascinating,  and  sub- 
lime a  manner,  that  her  hearers  were  never  weary  of  list- 
ening to  her.  The  young  woman,  otherwise  so  reserved, 
became,  under  these  influences,  entirely  changed  :  select 
passages  from  Holy  "Writ,  clothed  in  eloquent  words,  with 
appropriate  examples  and  quotations  from  the  Saints, 
flowed  as  a  flood  from  her  mouth.  These  thoughts  she  pre- 
sented to  the  circle  of  her  listeners  dressed  in  forcible  lan- 
guage and  in  imagery  taken  usually  from  the  labors  and 
occupations  of  the  common  life,  as  known  to  the  Sisterhood. 

The  substance  of  some  of  these  spiritual  discourses  has 
been  written  down  by  her  pupils,  and  is  still  extant  in 
manuscript.  But  these  scanty  notices  can  afford  but  a  very 
imperfect  picture  of  their  delivery  by  herself,  so  full  of  life 
and  unction;  nevertheless,  we  wish  to  give  some  fragments 
of  them  to  the  reader.  Though  the  far-fetched  allegories 
and  similes  are  far  more  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
that  age,  than  they  are  with  that  of  our  own,  yet  they  will 
serve  to  illustrate,  in  a  high  degree,  her  manner  of  teach- 
ing and  of  impressing  her  lessons  on  the  memory. 

Once,  in  Advent,  when  her  novices  had  asked  her  how 
best  to  prepare  for  Christmas,  she  said  that  it  had  occurred 
to  her  that  instead  of  a  dirty  stable  and  miserable  crib 
they  should  build  a  grand  palace  for  Jesus,  in  a  spiritual 
manner,  and  that  they  could  construct  it  thus  : 

Five  things  are  wanted  to  build  a  house  :  First,  a  good 
foundation  in  this  projected  spiritual  edifice  must,  with 
the  help  of  God,  be  laid  by  the  exercise  of  a  profound 
humility  ;  secondly,  by  the  plumb-line  of  perfect  obedience 
must  the  regular  work  go  forward  ;  thirdly,  unity  among 
the  workers  and  a  mutual  good  understanding,  which  re- 


f)6          The  Life  of  \7en.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

quire,  before  all,  sisterly  love  ami  union,  are  absolutely 
necessary  ;  fourthly,  suitable  materials  for  building  must 
be  sought  for,  such  as  wood,  stone,  lime,  sand,  and  water  : 
these  can  be  attained  by  pious  meditations.  The  wood  is  to 
be  hewn  down  and  cut  to  pieces  in  the  Garden  of  Olives, 
by  contemplating  the  sufferings  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  The 
beams  must  be  made  from  the  holy  Cross  and  the  staff 
of  office  broken  before  Pilate.  The  stones  must  be  broken 
on  Mount  Calvary.  Clay  for  the  brick  may  be  taken  from 
the  depths  of  their  own  nothingness  and  sinfulness,  and 
burnt  in  the  hot  kiln  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus  :  their 
own  daily  exercises  might  serve  them  for  sand,  and  the 
brook  Cedrou  furnish  them  with  water.  Fifthly,  they 
needed  tools,  and  these  should  be  the  tools  used  at  the 
death  of  Christ,  as  the  hammer,  tongs,  nails,  ladders, 
ropes,  and  staves  ;  they  could  every  day  select  one  of  these 
for  pious  contemplation,  and  throughout  the  day,  when  at 
work,  endeavor  to  keep  it  before  their  minds. 

After  this  she  gives  some  practical  rules  as  to  how  to 
erect  this  spiritual  edifice  during  the  four  weeks  of  Advent. 
They  should  choose  the  heavenly  Father  as  Architect,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  Contractor,  to  prepare  a  palace  worthy 
of  the  Divine  Son.  St.  Joseph  should  be  the  carpenter, 
the  holy  angels  should  be  the  workmen.  On  awaking 
in  the  morning  they  should  immediately  make  an  act 
of  faith,  thinking  :  "  That  is  the  voice  of  the  heavenly 
Master  calling  thee  to  work."  They  should  rise  without 
f  delay,  in  obedience,  and  make  an  act  of  hope  in  God, 
thereby  intrusting  the  work  to  Him  who  balances  the 
whole  world  in  the  hands  of  His  omnipotence.  Then  they 
should  proceed  to  the  chapel,  "  the  armory  of  love,"  and 
from  the  tabernacle  draw  forth  all  the  tools  for  their  work, 
putting  up  prayers  to  the  Saviour  that  everything  they 
should  do  that  day  might  be  done  according  to  His  sovereign 
will  and  pleasure.  The  prayers,  good  intentions,  and  acts 
of  virtue,  which  they  should  make  in  reciting  their  office, 
are  then  specified  :  namely,  the  meditations  on  the  incar- 


Faith,  Ike  Root  of  Her  Life,  97 

nation  during  Mass  and  at  work.  For  that  work  they 
should  especially  endeavor  to  compare  the  tools  used  there- 
at, with  the  instruments  of  the  passion  of  Christ ;  added 
to  which,  they  should  often  say  in  their  hearts,  and  by 
word  of  mouth,  when  they  met  one  another  :  "  Praised  be 
the  blessed  Fruit  of  Mary,"  and  the  answer  :  "  May  He  be 
praised  forever  and  ever  : " — or  this  salutation  :  ' '  Praised 
and  blessed  be  the  noble  Treasure  thou  didst  receive  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  0  Mary,"  with  the  response  :  Praise  be 
to  Him,  forever  and  ever. 

When  the  bell  rings  for  meals,  they  should  ponder  on  the 
generous  love  of  the  Lord  and  Father  for  whom  they  work, 
and  receive  the  good  food  as  if  He  served  them  with  His 
own  hand,  although  they  had  done  their  work  so  badly  as 
not  to  deserve  a  bit  of  bread  or  a  drop  of  water  :  here  they 
should  make  an  act  of  true  contrition,  with  a  firm  purpose 
of  amendment.  At  the  examination  of  conscience,  they 
were  to  present  themselves  before  the  Divine  Architect, 
to  entreat  for  light  to  inspect  the  building,  especially  in 
regard  to  the  first  stories  or  points.  Before  retiring  to 
sleep,  they  should  earnestly  crave  forgiveness  for  every 
failure  by  fault  or  neglect ;  they  should  then  put  back 
their  tools  into  the  tabernacle,  request  the  holy  angels  to 
watch  over  and  guard  the  property  of  the  future  Messias, 
and  then  they  should  lie  down  to  rest — to  rest  in  safety 
in  the  bosom  of  Mary. 

That  Ven.  Mother  Crescentia  not  only  read  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  with  an  enlightened  mind,  but  also  the  book 
of  nature,  is  proved  by  the  following  conversation,  which 
she  held  with  Sister  M.  Raphael,  at  that  time  a  novice — 
afterwards  (from  1769-1799)  Superioress  of  the  convent. 
With  some  slight  change  in  the  language  the  naive  report 
is  here  verbally  reproduced  from  a  manuscript  of  this 
same  Sister. 

"  One  day  Mother  Cresceutia  called  me,  Sister  Raphael 
Miller,  into  her  cell,  saying  :  "  I  am  going  to  make  you  a 
little  present."  When  I  came  at  once,  she  gave  me  a  leaf 


9 8          The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

from  a  tree  and  said  :  '  There  you  have  a  particle  from  the 
almighty  power  of  God.'  I  thought  to  myself  :  What  can 
she  mean  by  that  ?  but  I  dared  not  trust  myself  to  inquire. 
Thereupon  she  took  the  leaflet  into  her  own  hand  and  said: 
'Look  here,  in  this  apparently  worthless  creature  lie 
concealed  the  divine  omnipotence,  wisdom,  and  goodness. 
Omnipotence  is  shown  in  the  fact  that  it  is  what  it  is. 
God's  almighty  power  created  it  and  upholds  it  in  its  ex- 
istence, else  in  one  moment  it  would  become  nothing. 
Wisdom  so  ordered  it  that  all  its  veins  and  points  con- 
duce to  the  highest  end  and  aim,  so  that,  in  a  manner, 
the  whole  tree  is  figured  in  this  leaf.  Goodness  is  mani- 
fested, by  its  being  created  for  our  eternal  and  temporal 
benefit :  for  our  eternal  benefit,  in  that  we  may  know,  love, 
praise,  and  worship  God  through  it,  for  our  temporal  bene- 
fit, because,  as  the  trunk  puts  forth  its  green  foliage  and 
increases  for  our  enjoyment  and  pleasure,  it  also  is  in  the 
end  useful  as  fuel  to  warm  us,  or  to  cook  our  food. 

f ' '  We  can  also/  she  continued,  '  contemplate  the  ocean 
in  this  leaflet.  All  the  rivers  and  brooks  have  their  origin 
from  the  ocean,  and  run  through  hill  and  dale,  over  gravel- 
pits  and  rocks,  till  they  reach  the  goal  appointed  by  God. 
These  are  signified  by  the  little  arteries  of  the  leaf,  which 
point  out,  as  it  were,  the  roads  to  Heaven  which  traverse 
this  earthly  kingdom.  The  tiny  points  of  the  leaf  repre- 
sent the  boundaries  which  the  Lord  has  set  to  the  ocean, 
lest  it  should  overflow  the  earth  and  do  harm.  For  God 
Himself  is  the  unfathomable  Ocean  of  all  grace  and  per- 
fection. The  little  ribs  of  the  leaf  represent,  not  only 
rivers  and  brooks,  but  also  all  natural  and  supernatural 
gifts  of  God,  more  especially  His  holy  inspirations,  that 
penetrate  the  hills  and  dales,  the  rocks  and  stones,  which 
are  also  found  in  the  human  soul :  and  when  the  soul,  on 
her  part,  opposes  no  obstacle  to  divine  grace,  but  co-operates 
with  it,  then  will  all  virtues  be  built  up  within  her/  " 

WTiat  we  have  said  about  this  individual  case,  namely, 
that  in  the  smallest  creatures  she  recognized,  praised,  and 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  99 

loved  the  glory  of  the  great  King,  as  if  in  a  mirror,  was 
constantly  true  of  her,  for  this  holy  recognition  was 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  her  conspicuous  habit.  She 
said  sometimes  before  the  Sisters  :  "0  God,  Thou  marvel- 
lous Builder,  how  great  is  Thy  power,  how  incomprehen- 
sible Thy  skill !  Be  Thou  praised  in  the  work  of  Thy 
hands." '  Then  she  called  the  attention  of  the  Sisters  to  the 
fact  that  the  infinite  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God 
are  to  be  seen  and  admired  in  the  smallest  creatures  ;  such 
as  flies,  ants,  bees,  etc.,  because,  notwithstanding  the  small- 
ness  of  their  size,  nothing  is  wanting  to  them  :  their  eyes, 
ears,  mouth,  feet,  wings,  and  all  other  members  and  parts 
are  so  perfect  in  their  construction  as  to  surpass  all  human 
understanding. 

Her  enlightened  faith  was  not  alone  exuberant  in  beauti- 
ful thoughts  and  expressions  which  might  possibly  be 
likened  to  leaves  without  fruit ;  it  manifested  itself,  on  the 
contrary,  in  what.  St.  Paul  terms  ' ( the  fruit  of  the  light," 4 
in  a  holy  interior  and  exterior  life,  flowing  clear,  pure,  and 
full  from  the  fountain  of  faith.  But  "  my  just  man  liveth 
by  faith."  *  This  saying  of  the  Lord  best  expresses  the  pe- 
culiar character  of  her  life.  From  the  depths  of  that  light 
of  faith,  which  radiates  from  the  vision  of  God  and  fully 
eclipses  all  the  enlightenment  which  proceeds  from  any 
finite  spirit,  she  drew  forth  the  rule  and  the  impulse  to 
whatever  she  thought,  wished,  said,  and  did.  She  laid 
the  highest  value  on  this  life  of  faith;  she  prayed 
most  earnestly  to  God  to  lead  her  soul  by  the  in- 
fallible road  of  mystic  faith,  and  in  her  spiritual  conversa- 
tions impressed  this  main  point  on  the  other  Sisters,  bitter- 
ly lamenting  that  God  is  so  little  loved,  and  is  so  often 
offended,  because  man  does  not  live  by  faith.  "  If,"  said 
she,  "  men  but  knew  it,  and  truly  believed  in  the  infinite 
greatness  of  God,  and  in  His  desire  and  readiness  to  make 
us  happy,  both  in  time  and  in  eternity,  no  one  would  be 
found  who  did  not  truly  love  Him." 

1  Gabriel,  p.  riC.  2  Eph.  v.  9.  »  Heb.  x.  38. 


ioo        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescenti'a, 

The  melancholy  experience  that  many  pious  persons 
make  no  progress  in  spiritual  life,  but  retrograde,  in 
spite  of  performing  many  spiritual  exercises,  she  ascribed 
to  their  keeping  the  talent  of  faith  buried,  that  is,  to 
their  neglecting  to  apply  and  exercise  this  divine  power. 
"  6  happy  is  the  soul,"  she  exclaimed,  "  who  utterly  mis- 
trusts its  own  feelings  and  judgment  and  blindly  follows 
the  leadership  of  so  clear  a  light  as  faith  is  !  What  grati- 
tude do  I  not  owe  to  God,  for  having  led  me  by  this  road !  " 

She  applied  the  maxims  of  faith  to  everything  concern- 
ing the  soul,  and  to  all  interior  and  exterior  actions,  with 
a  facility,  perseverance,  and  energy  that  seemed  to  measure 
all  things  with  eye  and  heart  from  the  stand-point  of  eter- 
nity. Being  completely  immersed  in  divine  light,  she  held 
the  world  and  all  temporal  things  as  nothing,  God  as  every- 
thing. That  which  the  natural  man  loves  and  seeks,  she 
looked  upon  as  the  refuse  of  the  streets ;  trampling 
it  under  foot,  and  stretching  forward  with  all  the  powers 
of  her  soul  for  the  attainment  of  that  one  Good  which  lasts 
forever.  Yes,  verily,  she  stood  in  this  light  of  faith,  like 
unto  the  angels,  always  before  the  face  of  our  Blessed  Lord, 
and  scarcely  for  a  moment  ever  lost  sight  of  His  presence. 
She  herself  confessed  that  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  there  was 
nothing  in  the  world  except  God  and  herself  alone.  She 
said  to  the  Sisters  on  this  subject  :  "  What  an  infinite 
blessing  it  is  that  the  Sovereign  Good  is  constantly  with  us! 
Wherefore  I  beg  of  you  in  all  your  actions  to  practise  a 
living  faith." 

All  the  following  chapters  of  this  Second  Book  will  suffi- 
ciently prove  in  what  a  high  degree  "the  fruit  of  the 
light  "  '  in  all  goodness,  and  justice,  and  truth,  revealed  it- 
self in  her  whole  exterior  and  interior  life.  The  astonish- 
ing purity  of  her  conscience,  the  child-like  simplicity 
of  her  heart,  which  saw  beyond  the  exterior  of  things 
and  their  temporal  use  and  convenience,  and  traced 
them  and  all  things  to  their  roots  in  the  holy  will  of  God, 

>  Jtnh.  v.  8. 


Faith,  the  Root  of  Her  Life.  101 

the  immovable  peace  of  her  heart,  the  harmony  in  the 
quiet,  progressive  development  of  her  interior  life,  her  de- 
votion in  prayer  and  her  continuous  recollection — all  these 
were  the  fruits  of  her  firm,  pure,  living  faith^  Her  strength 
in  temptations  also  was  the  result  of  her-  "  taking  in 
all  things  the  shield  of  faith,  wherewith  you  may  be 
able  to  extinguish  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the  most  wicked 
one."1  From  that  same  source  sprang  that  peace  that 
not  the  severest  sufferings  or  unexpected  rush  of  acci- 
dents could  disturb.  It  was  then  she  fled  immediately  to 
the  region  of  faith,  or  rather  she  was  always  there,  and 
raised  herself,  by  its  power,  above  the  often  destructive 
pressure  of  feelings  which  pain  makes  upon  the  feeble  wil] 
of  a  soul  not  based  on  God. 

In  this  place  we  would  also  mention  that  her  vivid 
faith  inspired  her  with  an  incredible  love,  veneration,  and 
subjection  to  the  visible  Church  of  God  here  on  earth.  It 
could  not  be  otherwise ;  the  true  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ 
embraces  with  one  and  the  same  love  the  Head  and  the 
members,  Christ  and  the  Church,  the  Father  and  the 
Mother.  As  St.  Augustine  says,  "Let  us  love  God  as  our 
Father,  let  us  love  the  Church  as  our  Mother,"  she 
usually  called  the  Church  her  beloved  Mother,  and  really 
practised,  in  regard  to  it,  love,  obedience  and  respect ; 
fulfilling  towards  this  good  Mother  the  precept  of  the 
fourth  commandment  with  such  ready  obedience  and  per- 
fection that  the  best  child  could  hardly  rival  her  in  fulfill- 
ing its  duties  towards  its  own  mother. 

She  received  the  "Word  of  God  from  the  mouth  of  Holy 
Church  with  the  docility  of  an  innocent  child  ;  and  not 
only  the  expressed  articles  of  faith,  but  every  doctrine, 
decision,  custom,  and  ceremony  of  the  Catholic  Church 
was  highly  revered  by  her.  This  was  especially  the  case 
with  regard  to  the  Holy  See.  In  the  Pope  she  acknowl- 
edged not  alone  her  Father,  but  Christ  Himself.  To  be 
united  to  him  by  fidelity,  obedience,  and  love,  should  it 

1  Eph.  vl.  16. 


IO2        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

even  cost  cue's  blood  and  life,  she  di-chired  to  be  the  duty 
of  every  Christian.  She  exhorted  all  with  whom  she  came 
into  communication,  especially  her  religious  Sisters,  to  per- 
severe in  these  sentiments:  "Remain  ever  faithful  to  the 
Church/'  she  said  : '  "  faithful  even  unto  death  ;  if  nec- 
essary, you  must  count  it  joy  to  shed  your  blood  and  give 
your  life  for  her.  The  Eternal  Truth  itself  testifies  that 
the  Church  cannot  err,  and  that  must  be  sufficient  for  us. 
Should  you  have  no  opportunity  to  show  your  love  in  great 
things,  show  it  in  little  things.  Keep  her  rules,  ordinances, 
and  precepts  perfectly  ;  cultivate  a  high  esteem  for  her 
ceremonial,  celebrate  her  feasts  with  great  devotion,  in  a 
word,  be  always  and  in  everything  obedient  children  of  the 
holy  Catholic  Church." 

She  valued  every  pious  devotion  precisely  in  the  degree 
in  which  it  had  been  recommended  by  the  Church.  When 
asked  for  a  rule  of  life,  she  replied:  "  Follow  the  teachings, 
rules,  and  customs  of  the  Church,  which  knows  and  teaches 
what  is  best  to  do."  Hence,  she  held  in  utter  abhorrence, 
not  only  every  error,  but  the  all  too  liberal  and  novel 
opinions  in  religious  matters.  A  report  had  been  spread 
abroad,  and  was  believed  by  many,  that  the  rosaries  which 
she  distributed,  and  which,  before  distribution,  she  always 
caused  to  be  blessed  and  indulgenced  by  a  priest  possessing 
the  proper  faculties,  had  been  blessed  by  Christ 
Himself,  and  by  Him  were  enriched  with  indulgences. 
When  this  report,  the  offspring  of  an  easy  credulity,  came 
to  her  ears,  she  was  so  stricken  with  pain  and  fear,  that 
she  was  almost  beside  herself,  and  with  tears  protested 
against  it.  She  used  every  means  in  her  power  to  remove 
this  error,  which  was  disseminated  even  more  widely  after 
her  death,  and  gave  occasion  to  many  objections  being 
raised  to  her  beatification.  A  thorough  investigation  was 
therefore  made,  by  which  the  falsity  of  her  having  spread 
this  rumor  was  incontrovertibly  proved. * 

1  Ott.  p.  42,  and  Act.  passim.  *  .Act.  B.  Respons.  N.  101  et  aeq. 


Faith,  tke  Root  of  Her  Life.  103 

From  the  same  living  faith  arose  her  great  respect  for 
every  priest.  She  frequently  repeated  the  saying  of  St.  Fran- 
cis of  Assisi,  that  if  she  met  a  priest  and  an  angel  at  the 
same  time,  she  would  first  salute,  in  all  honor  and  respect, 
the  priest ;  because  in  the  angel  she  beheld  only  an  angel, 
but  in  the  priest  she  beheld  Christ  Himself.  Secular 
authority  was  also  venerable  in  her  believing  eyes  as  repre- 
senting that  of  God.  She  never  permitted  hard  and  de- 
rogatory language  to  be  used  in  this  regard:  "Although 
this  is  often  occasioned  by  the  conduct  of  the  bearers  of 
authority  themselves,  we  owe  them  respect/'  she  used  to 
say,  (( because  our  Redeemer  and  Law-giver  has  command- 
ed it." 

In  this  living  faith  she  passed  her  life,  and  by  contin- 
uing thus  to  the  end,  won  the  victory  over  death.  What 
she  had  said  so  often  during  life  :  "  0  mysteries  of  the 
Lord,  0  mysteries  of  the  Lord  !  I  will  always  firmly  believe 
in  them,  and  confess  them  with  my  last  breath/'  she  did, 
in  fact,  when  she  was  dying. 

When  death  was  near,  she  turned  to  her  confessor, 
Father  Pamer,  S.  J.,  and  said  :  "I  testify  before  Heaven 
and  earth,  that  I  will  die  in  the  holy  Roman  Church." 
To  her  Sisters  who  were  compassionating  her  for  her  terri- 
ble sufferings,  she  sweetly  said  these  beautiful  words,  which 
came  from  the  depths  of  her  liveliest  faith  :  "Oh!  how  lit- 
tle, how  insignificant  are  my  sufferings  to  be  considered, 
when  compared  to  the  horrible  torments  which  the  holy 
martyrs  so  heroically  endured  for  the  faith  !  Would  to 
God  I  might  suffer  the  same,  after  their  example  ! "  Thus 
had  she,  like  the  prudent  man  in  the  Gospel/  built  the 
house  of  her  temporal  life  upon  the  rock  of  faith,  and  when 
the  rains  poured  in,  and  the  rivers  of  suffering  overflowed, 
when  the  winds  blew  and  diabolical  temptations  stormed 
against  this  house,  it  fell  not,  for  it  was  founded,  not  on  the 
sand  of  human  feelings  and  opinions,  but  on  the  rock  of 
faith;  it  defied  the  power  of  death  and  stood  firm  in  eternity. 

1  Matt.  Vll.  fc4,  25. 


•IO4        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

O  Christian,  if  you  do  not  desire  that  your  house,  built 
on  sand,  should  one  day  fall  down  and  bury  you  beneath 
its  ruins,  follow  the  example  of  this  wise  virgin  and  fulfil 
the  admonition  of  the  Apostle  :  "Let  us  draw  near  (to 
Christ),  with  a  true  heart  in  fulness  of  faith." ' 


CHAPTER  II. 
Hope,  Her  Strength.' 

HE  first-born  daughter  of  faith  is  the  theological 
virtue  of  hope.  She  directs  the  heart  of  the  earth- 
ly pilgrim  upwards,  that  it  may  dilate  with  de- 
sire for  God  as  for  its  highest  happiness,  and  she  places  its 
firm  trust  on  the  almighty  arm  of  Him,  who  "  continueth 
faithful  and  cannot  deny  Himself."  *  Thus,  as  St.  Thomas 
Aquinas  says  :4  "Hope  takes  hold  of  God,  relying  on  His 
help,  in  order  to  obtain  the  desired  good."  In  this  virtue 
principally  lies  the  vital  force  or  motive  power  which  moves 
the  soul  to  its  supernatural  end,  and  from  it  also  springs  the 
fortitude  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  endless  difficulties  of 
this  mortal  life.  We  have  hope,  says  St.  Paul,  "as  an  an- 
chor of  the  soul,  sure  and  firm,  and  which  entereth  in, 
even  within  the  veil."*  St.  Thomas  gives  a  beautiful  ex- 
planation of  this  text,  in  these  words :  *  "  Hope  is  likened 
to  an  anchor,  because,  as  the  anchor  renders  the  ship  immov- 
able in  the  ocean,  so  hope  confirms  the  soul  in  God,  in  this 
world,  which  resembles  an  ocean.  Yet,  there  is  this  differ- 
ence between  an  anchor,  in  that  the  anchor  does  the  fast- 
ening below,  in  the  depths,  while  hope's  work  is  above,  in 
the  Most  High,  in  God.  And,  in  fact,  there  is,  in  this 
life,  nothing  solid  on  which  the  soul  could  take  its  stand, 
support  itself,  and  find  rest." 

'  Heb.  x.  22. s  Summ.  N.  8.  f  1, 317.  »  II.  Tim.  11. 13. 

4  Summa  2 :  2,  q.  17  A.  1.  6  HHi.  vl.  r.».  *  In  Epist.  art  Hebr.  I.  c. 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  105 

The  Holy  Ghost,  the  Teacher  of  Crescentia,'had  from  her 
very  infancy  taught  her  to  cast  the  anchor  of  her  hope  on 
high,  above  all  visible  and  created  things.  No  storms,  how 
terribly  soever  they  dashed  against  the  ship  of  her  heart, 
were  able  to  wrest  the  anchor  of  her  hope  from  its 
hold  on  the  divine  Father-heart,  or  even  to  shake  its  firm- 
ness ;  on  the  contrary,  her  hope  in  God  and  her  strength  in 
Him  grew  by  that  very  suffering.  She  was  herself  quite 
conscious  that  her  strength  was  grounded  in  hope,  and  she 
expressed  this  conviction  in  the  maxim  she  often  repeated: 
"  We  ought  to  part  with  life  itself,  rather  than  lose  our 
hope  in  God." 

It  was  the  light  of  faith  that  first  enkindled  within  her 
heart  an  ardent  desire  for  God;  everything  beneath  this 
Supreme  Good  she  "  counted  as  dung  in  order  to  gain 
Christ."  '  She  practised  what  she  often  said  :  "We  must 
turn  the  eyes  of  our  hearts  entirely  aside  from  the  visible 
and  fix  them  upon  the  invisible,  directing  all  our  hope  to 
God  alone." 

In  that  heart,  purified  from  the  deceptive  love  which 
binds  us  to  temporal  things,  the  ardent  desire  for  the  Su- 
preme Good  increased  till  it  became  a  consuming  fire.  The 
Sisters  often  watched,  unnoticed,  when  ghe  raised  her  eyes, 
streaming  with  tears  towards  Heaven,  sighing  forth:  "  Ad- 
vefiiat  regnum  tuum,"  "Thy  kingdom  come/'  or  utter- 
ing the  burning  words  :  "  Who  will  give  me  wings,  that  I 
may  fly  away  and  rest  in  the  wounds  of  my  Beloved  ?  "  In 
the  evening  she  loved  to  contemplate  the  starry  heavens  ; 
then  from  her  heart,  wounded  by  love  and  desire,  these 
words  poured  forth  :  "Ye  stars,  beautiful  are  ye,  indeed, 
but  oh !  how  far  more  beautiful  is  He  who  created  you  !  Ye, 
who  adorn  the  head  of  my  Beloved,  as  with  a  crown,  tell 
Him,  I  beseech  you,  that  I  am  pining  away  for  love  of 
Him  ;  that  I  am  fainting  with  desire  to  see  Him  after  this 
little  while."2 

The  same  faith  produced  in  her  heart  the  most  child- 

1  Plnl.  iii.  8.  2  Suram.  N.  8,  §  1-43, 


io6        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent  ia. 

like  and  firm  confidence  in  the  most  merciful  and  most 
faithful  Father  in  Heaven.  In  her  greatest  dereliction  she 
did  as  St.  Paul  bids  us  do,  "  to  hold  fast  the  confession  of 
our  hope  without  wavering,  (for  He  is  faithful  that  hath 
promised)."'  By  which  she  proved  that  she  had  attained 
the  highest  degree  of  hope,  which,  according  to  St.  Bona- 
venture,  consists  in  utterly  abandoning  all  created  help,  and 
in  relying  confidently  on  the  mercy  and  faithfulness  of 
the  Lord.  * 

She  sometimes  exclaimed,  with  a  radiant  face:  "0  faith, 
0  holy  faith,  thou  teachest  me  that  God  is  my  Father ! 

0  sweetest  words,  0  remembrance  full  of  hope,  God,  my 
Father!  God,    my  Father  I"     It  was  from   this  thought 
that  the  beginning  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  made  a  special  im- 
pression on  her,  carrying  her  beyond  herself ;  and  causing 
her  to  repeat,  over  and  over  again,  with  indescribable  emo- 
tion :    "  Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven  !   0  what  is  that  ? 
God,  my  Father !    God,  my  Father  ! "    The  usual  formula  in 
which  she  expressed  her  confidence  in  God  was  this  one:  "  O 
almighty  and  ever-faithful  God,  I  rely  upon   Thy  infinite 
mercy  and  most  faithful  promises,  and  I  will  always  trust 
that  with  the  help  of  Thy  grace,  with  which  I  will  co-operate 
to  the  best  of  my  power,  and  through  the  merits  of  Jesus, 

1  may  attain  to    Thee,  my  only  blessed  end  and   aim. 
Who  has  ever  trusted  in  Thee,  0  Lord,   and  been   con- 
founded ?  " 

The  reader  will  be  edified  if  we  add,  in  this  place,  the 
following  words,  which  she  wrote  down  in  her  exercises, 
during  a  retreat  in  1741:*  "My  crucified,  loving  God! 
Thou  hast  healed  all  my  wounds,  and  I  am  the  cause  of 
all  Thy  sufferings  !  Ah  !  have  mercy  !  I  will  prostrate 
myself  before  Thy  most  holy  feet,  at  the  cross,  I  will  trust 
in  Thee  with  an  invincible  confidence,  that  I  may  not  be 
led  into  any  distractions,  on  account  of  my  sinful  life. 
Annihilate  in  me  everything  that  could  excite  a  vain  con- 
fidence in  creatures  or  in  myself.  All  creatures  are  but  as 

1  Heb.  x.  £1.  *  De  irrudilni*  virtutum,  c.  -J7.  3  Kolb.  p.  50. 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  107 

reeds  of  the  marsh ;  I  can  place  no  hope  in  them  or  in 
myself.  I  hope  against  hope  when  I  find  myself  in  great 
dejection,  and  weep  because  I  have  lost  Heaven.  If  Thou 
shouldst  kill  me,  yet  will  I  hope  in  Thee.1  The  more 
I  appear  to  be  abandoned  by  Thee,  the  greater  shall  be  my 
trust  in  Thee.  If  I  enjoy  but  little  light,  yet  I  have  much 
hope.  My  God,  Thou  art  my  strength  ! " 

This  confidence  of  hers  was  by  no  means  the  result  of  a 
natural  disposition ;  on  the  contrary,  she  had  to  struggle 
with  anxiety,  all  her  life,  and  for  many  years  was  beset 
with  grievous  temptations  concerning  the  grace  of  the 
elect.  She  confessed  to  her  novices  a  that  the  devil  had 
continually  troubled  her  with  the  thought  :  "  Thou 
wilt  be  condemned,  do  what  thou  wilt ;  everything  is  for 
nothing  ;  thou  art  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God ; 
thou  dost  but  offend  God  the  more  with  thy  prayers  and 
other  good  works/'  At  these  painful  attacks  and  doubts 
her  soul  rose  in  faith,  plunged  all  the  deeper  into  the 
depths  of  the  Divine  Heart,  and  as  she  expressed  it,  she 
cast  herself  into  the  arms  of  so  good,  so  merciful,  and  so 
amiable  a  Father,  who  is  full  of  love  and  sweetness  towards 
His  children,  asking  of  them  nothing  in  return  but  love 
and  trustful  confidence.  "0  Thou,  my  God/'  she  ex- 
claimed ;  "how  often,  nay,  always  do  I  find  Thee  faithful  ! 
Thou  knowest  my  needs  and  art  ready  to  help  me,  for  I 
am  Thy  creature  and  the  work  of  Thy  hands ! " 

Once  she  said  in  a  spiritual  discourse  :  "  Whenever  the 
devil  assails  me  with  gloomy  thoughts  concerning  my  eter- 
nal predestination,  I  flee  to  my  crucified  Eedeemer,  conceal 
myself  in  His  wounds  and  say  to  Him  with  filial  confi- 
dence :  '  My  Beloved,  if  for  no  fault  of  mine  Thou  shouldst 
condemn  me  to  hell,  I  should  yet  be  consoled,  should  still 
trust  in  Thy  infinite  kindness  and  fidelity  that  Thou 
wouldst  never  desert  me,  and  if  Thou  wert  with  me,  hell  it- 
self would  be  a  paradise  to  me/  God  is  infinitely  good ; 
He  is  never  the  first  to  depart.  It  is  His  peculiar  property 

>  Job  xill.  15.  2  Gabriel,  p.  15. 


io8        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

to  be  ever  merciful  and  to  spare.  Yes,  He  is  my  hope  and 
my  salvation." 

As  it  was  against  this  virtue  that  she  was  most  tempted, 
und  as  she  was  fully  aware  of  its  decided  importance  on  the 
bearing  of  the  whole  spiritual  life,  she  kept  constantly  on 
hand  some  texts  from  Holy  Writ,  or  sayings  from  the  Lives 
of  the  Saints,  and  therewith  rebuked  the  tempter,  as  with 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  after  the  example  of  the  Saviour. 
Such  were  :  "It  is  not  the  will  of  my  Father  that  one  of 
these  little  ones  should  perish." — "  God  is  my  Redeemer, 
I  will  fear  nothing." — "  My  help  is  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord." — "  God  is  the  Lord  ;  who  can  injure  me,  when  God 
is  my  helper  ?  " — "  Lord,  who  that  has  hoped  in  Thee,  has 
ever  been  confounded?" — "Thy  grace,  0  Lord,  is  suffi- 
cient forme."  She  especially  loved  these  two  sayings:1 
"If  armies  in  camp  should  stand  together  against  me,  my 
heart  shall  not  fear." — "  His  heart  is  ready  to  hope  in 
the  Lord  ;  his  heart  is  strengthened  :  he  shall  not  be  moved 
until  he  look  over  his  enemies."  *  With  such  sentences 
she  also  consoled  others. 

Genuine  hope  is  combined  with  a  holy  filial  fear,  lest,  on 
our  part,  obstacles  should  arise  to  hinder  the  action  of  the 
mercy  and  grace  of  God.  This  fear  surrounded  her  heart 
like  the  wall  of  a  fortress,  protecting  her  from  presumption 
and  sloth.  "No  sin,  only  no  sin,"  she  frequently  ex- 
claimed. "  May  God  send  whatever  He  pleases,  so  that  no 
sin  be  committed  !  I  hope  His  infinite  mercy  will  guard 
me."  Her  prayer  for  this  fear  was:*  "0,  my  God,  give 
me  a  child-like  fear,  that  I  may  fear  everything  that  dis- 
pleases Thee  ;  give  me  a  reverential  fear  that  I  may  always 
stand  in  Thy  presence  and  endeavor  to  obtain  the  fear  in- 
spired by  love.  Since  Thou,  0  Man-God,  hast,  as  man, 
trembled  before  Thy  heavenly  Father,  what  must  not  I  do 
as  a  worm  of  the  earth  ?  " 

She  ever  imagined  she  could  see  faults  in  herself,  when 
the  strictest  i-yo  of  IUT  confessor  could  not  detect  a  trace  or 
1  Ps.  HVI.  •',.  *  Ps.  czl.  7,  8.  3  Kolb,  p.  48. 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  109 

shadow  of  sin ;  and  even  when  she  herself  could  not  dis- 
cover any  sin  in  a  thing,  she  did  not  on  that  account  justify 
herself,  but  said  :  "If,  through  the  infinite  grace  of  God,  I 
do  not  find  myself  guilty,  I  am  not  on  that  account  justi- 
fied, and  know  not  whether  I  am  worthy  of  love  or  hat- 
red." :  And  again  :  "  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth 
take  heed  lest  he  fall." "  Thus  fear  and  hope  were  balanced 
in  her  soul,  as  it  is  the  will  of  God  they  should  be  in  this 
mortal  life.  This  she  expressed  in  these  words  :  "I  am 
u  great  sinner,  but  God's  mercy  is  greater  than  all  my  sins. 
I  am  but  a  feeble  reed,  a  mere  nothing  ;  my  whole  skill 
consists  in  sinning  ;  but  it  is  on  that  account  that  I  hope 
and  pray  that  God  will  not  withdraw  His  merciful  hand 
from  me." 

When  it  happened  that  she  really  thought  that  she  had 
committed  a  sin,  although  her  sorrow  for  it  was  indescrib- 
ably great,  yet  her  hope  for  pardon  was  not  thereby  di- 
minished. Many  pusillanimous  souls  would  do  well  to  take 
to  heart  the  following  instruction  of  this  servant  of  God  : 
"  I  rest  entirely  safe  in  the  goodness  and  blood  of  my  Be- 
loved. I  acknowledge  that  I  have  often  offended  my  God, 
but  I  will  not  offend  Him  by  not  hoping  in  Him  ;  and 
therefore  I  do  not  entertain  the  least  distrust  in  His  inex- 
haustible goodness  and  in  His  fidelity  to  His  promises. 
Nay,  even  if  I  alone  had  committed  all  the  sins  of  all  man- 
kind, I  would  still  rely  on  the  infinite  value  of  the  blood  of 
Christ.  I  would  then  immerse  my  sins  in  the  wounds  of 
my  Kedeemer,  believing  that  I  could  not  do  Him  a  greater 
honor  than  by  putting  the  greatest  trust  in  Him,  notwith- 
standing my  being  the  greatest  sinner.  I  know,  indeed, 
that  God  deserves  to  be  loved  for  His  justice  as  well  as  for 
His  love  ;  yet,  I  gather  all  my  sins  together,  in  the  ab}rss 
of  my  nothingness,  and  cast  them  into  the  abyss  of  the  di- 
vine mercy." 

These  glorious  sentiments  manifested  themselves  more 
gloriously  yet,  in  the  heroic  firmness  she  exhibited  in  all 

Ix,  1,  2  I,  Cor,  x.  12, 


1 10        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

the  exterior  and  interior  sufferings  that  befell  her;  or  rather, 
it  may  be  said  that  her  fortitude  in  suffering  is  nothing 
else  than  her  firmness  in  hope.  Concerning  this  she  once 
expressed  herself  thus : l  "  God  is  specially  well  pleased 
with  those  who  firmly  hope  in  Him,  when  they  are  aban- 
doned by  every  one.  Such,  too,  He  usually  helps ;  they  do 
Him  violence,  as  it  were,  by  their  firm  and  courageous  hope.'' 
In  the  cases  wherein  the  ordinary  man  seemed  to  have  failed 
and  everything  appeared  lost,  she  used  to  be  quite  comforted 
and  to  say  :  "  Oh  !  now  is  the  right  time  to  hope  in  God, 
and  the  more  every  hope  is  frustrated,  the  more  will  I  trust 
in  Him  who  is  the  author  and  fulfiller  of  hope." 

Once  some  of  the  Sisters  were  compassionating  the  suffer- 
ing state  of  this  servant  of  God  and  marvelled  that  she  was 
so  tranquil  while  enduring  so  much  pain.  Whereupon 
she  revealed  her  interior  life  to  them  in  these  admirable 
words :  "  I  am  resting  in  security,  in  the  bosom  of  my 
Beloved,  my  heavenly  Father ;  and  I  hope  that  I  should 
there  rest  peaceably,  were  the  whole  world,  nay,  were  all 
hell  to  rise  up  against  me.  More  than  this,  were  Heaven 
and  earth  to  fall  to  pieces,  I  should  rest  securely ;  for, 
who  can  hurt  me,  if  God  is  my  helper  and  the  anchor 
of  my  hope  ?  Beloved  Sisters,  always  trust  in  the  good 
and  powerful  God,  who  imposes  on  no  one  a  burden 
heavier  than  he  can  bear,  and  who  bids  the  sun  rise  again 
when  the  fearful  storm  is  past.  There  would  be  no  ex- 
cellence, but  rather  a  sign  of  meanness,  in  loving  God  only 
when  He  caresses  us  ;  to  love  Him  when  He  strikes  us 
is  the  proof  of  true  love.  We  must  part  with  life,  rather 
than  lose  hope." 

When  she  was  decried  as  a  hypocrite  and  a  witch,  and 
many  of  her  fellow-Sisters  avoided  her  from  uneasiness, 
the  peace  of  her  soul  was  in  no  way  disturbed.  "  God  is 
my  Father,"  she  said  ;  "He  will  not  desert  me;  He  will 
make  all  things  work  together  for  His  honor  and  my  salva- 
tion." At  the  second  investigation  made  by  the  ecclesias- 
>  Gabriel,  p.  42, 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  \  \  i 

tical  authority  of  Augsburg  concerning  her,  it  was  currently 
reported  and  believed  that  she  would  be  sent  away,  im- 
prisoned, and  most  severely  punished  as  a  witch.  Sister 
Johanna,  then  Mother  Superior,  and  the  other  Sisters,  be- 
came extremely  excited  and  terrified.  She  alone,  though 
the  very  person  threatened,  remained  completely  at  peace 
and  only  said:  "God  is  the  Lord;  in  Him  alone  do  I 
trust.  If  He  takes  care  of  me,  no  one  can  hurt  me." 

At  this  opposition  by  men,  wherein  many  openly  pro- 
claimed her  a  hypocrite,  and  when  even  her  confessors  ex- 
pressed their  doubts  and  suspicions,  her  heroic  courage  once 
found  vent  in  these  words  :  "  This  is  indeed  the  happiest  posi- 
tion in  the  world  ;  it  sets  everybody  at  liberty  to  mock  at 
me  and  tread  me  under  foot.  Nothing  now  remains  to  me 
but  to  place  my  hope  in  the  Almighty  God  alone,  trusting 
that  He  will  turn  all  things  to  His  glory  and  my  salvation. " 
The  fortitude  with  which  she  endured  the  horribly  vexa- 
tious tortures  inflicted  by  the  devil  is  yet  more  remarkable. 
When  the  Sisters  were  beside  themselves  from  fright, 
she  only  smiled  and  said  :  "  You  may  be  able  to  kill  me, 
but  conquer  me  you  cannot,  for  my  hope  is  firmly  placed 
in  God." 

Thus,  finally  she  came  to  know  no  fear  but  the  fear  of 
God  ;  the  sufferings  and  losses^of  this  life  which  the  nat- 
ural man  dreads,  she  looked  on  as  passing  shadows,  which 
can  indeed  touch  and  inflict  pain  on  the  outward  man,  but 
cannot  stand  before  the  sun  when  it  brilliantly  lights  up 
his  interior  life.  Such  shadows  she  did  not  fear.  She 
once  acknowledged  this  to'  Sister  Joachim,  with  whom 
she  was  intimate,  and  who  was  tending  her  in  a  sickness. 
"  Although  I  am  the  most  feeble  reed,  yet  I  should  not 
be  afraid,  were  all  hell  and  all  men  permitted  to  exercise 
their  utmost  fury  and  cruelty  against  me ;  for  I  would 
then  place  my  hope  so  firmly  in  God,  that  by  the  as- 
sistance of  His  grace,  I  should  assuredly  conquer.  His 
grace  is  sufficient  for  me." 

0  happy  soul  !  looking  neither  forward  nor  backward, 


1 1 2        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia 

neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left,  but  ever  glancing  upward; 
who,  with  her  body,  walked  the  earth,  but  with  her  heart 
was  "  in  Heaven,  from  whence  also  we  look  for  the  Saviour, 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  reform  the  body  of  our 
lowness,  made  like  to  the  body  of  His  glory."  In  this  dis- 
position, she  frequently  prayed:  "0  God,  send  me  only 
crosses,  sicknesses,  contempt  and  disgrace,  and  a  whole 
ocean  of  persecutions!  Then  so  much  the  more  will  I 
hope  in  Thee,  0  powerful  God  !  And  shouldst  Thou  even 
kill  me,  I  will  still  hope  in  Thee,  and  cling  to  Thee  im- 
movably, 0  almighty  and  at  the  same  time  most  merciful 
Father  "l" 

Such  heroic  hope  deserved,  and  in  all  real  necessities  ac- 
tually obtained,  extraordinary  graces  and  miraculous  assist- 
ance from  God.  That  "  hope  confoundeth  not," a  is  most 
strikingly  proved  by  her  whole  life  :  she  obtained,  by  virtue 
of  hope,  more  than  mere  deliverance  from  the  pressure  of 
distress,  she  received  such  consolation  and  strength  in  her 
needs  that  their  pressure  did  not  bend  her  soul  to  earth, 
but  raised  it  up  higher  towards  Heaven.  Neither  did  the 
Lord  fail  to  grant  her  extraordinary  consolations  in  the 
painful  situations  in  which  she  was  placed.  Most  of  these 
she  concealed  in  silence,  according  to  her  wont,  yet  we 
know  from  the  communications  of  her  confessor,  that  when 
the  persecutions  were  at  their  height,  the  Lord  appeared 
to  her  and  said  these  consoling  words  : 5  "  My  child,  trust 
in  Me :  I  am  thy  Father  who  takes  care  of  thee  in  every 
way.  Fear  nothing,  but  to  offend  Me.  Remain  faithful 
to  Me  ;  love  Me  ever,  and  above  all  things  ;  My  grace  will 
be  great."  Also  in  the  later  persecution,  when  it  was 
proposed  to  remove  her  from  the  convent,  according  to  the 
same  witness,  our  Saviour  appeared  to  her,  saying:  "Fear 
not ;  I  will  defend  thee  against  thine  enemies ;  thou  shalt 
not  be  confounded  in  thy  hope." 

As  she  expected  and  obtained  such  great  things  from 
God,  we  must  naturally  conclude  that  in  temporal  matters 

1  Phil.  111.  30.  21,          »  Bom.  v.  5.  »  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  2. 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  113 

she  also  placed  her  trust  in  God  alone.  She  did  this  in  so 
sublime  a  manner  that  the  Lord  often  interfered  with  the 
usual  order  of  things  in  her  favor.  Her  principle  that  : 
"  God  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  Heaven  usually  grant 
the  most  efficacious  and  powerful  assistance  to  those  who 
are  without  human  assistance,"  has  always  proved  true. 
She  also  admonished  most  earnestly  her  spiritual  Sisters  to 
cast  all  their  cares  upon  the  Father  in  Heaven.  "  Be 
not  solicitous  for  the  morrow.  Our  true  business  is  to 
love  God  :  it  is  His  to  provide  for  our  needs."  Was  there 
anything  wanting  in  the  supply  for  temporal  needs,  or 
were  great  losses  threatening,  she  immediately  directed  the 
attention  of  all  to  God,  with  the  words  :  "  Provision  of 
these  things  can  never  be  exhausted  with  God  ;"  '  or,  "I 
trust  in  God  ;  He  is  a  loving  Father,  providing  everything 
we  need;  He  never  forsakes  His  children  ;  if  we  trust  Him 
with  a  child-like  trust,  and  keep  our  vows  and  rules,  we 
shall  certainly  never  be  in  want  of  our  daily  bread.  He 
so  lovingly  feeds  even  the  irrational  creatures;  how  much 
more  will  He  feed  us,  if  we  love  Him  from  our  hearts. 
Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  bread  will  be  given 
to  you  without  fail.  Our  part  is  to  serve  God,  God's  part 
is  to  preserve  us." 

We  have  already  related  some  striking  instances  of  the 
help  accorded  by  God  in  temporal  affairs,  but  we  shall  here 
add  some  other  cases.  She  had  a  set  of  Stations  of  the 
Cross  painted  for  the  convent,  but  had  no  money  to 
defray  the  cost.  She  had  recourse,  as  ever,  to  prayer, 
and  a  benefactor  who  knew  nothing  of  the  Stations  or  the 
price  asked  for  them,  brought,  as  an  offering,  without  being 
requested  to  do  so,  the  exact  sum  needed  to  pay  for  them. 
Certain  justifiable  reasons  induced  her  to  wish  to  present 
a  beautiful  crucifix  to  an  honorable  gentleman.  She  had 
none;  her  confidence  in  God,  however,  came  to  her  aid  at 
once  :  a  most  beautiful  crucifix  was  most  unexpectedly 
donated  to  her.  Once  she  was  in  need  of  200  florins. 

1  ott,  B.  ii.  c.  2. 


1 14        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

She  opened  an  old  chest,  which  she  herself  had  shortly  be- 
fore emptied,  and  found  that  amount  therein.  Nobody 
knew  or  could  imagine  whence  this  money  came. 

A  grace  to  be  valued  more  highly  yet  and  which  it  would 
seem  was  granted  her  by  God  as  a  reward  for  the  heroism 
of  her  hope,  was  the  gift  conferred  upon  her  of  being 
able  to  console  despairing  souls,  and  of  re-awakening  hope 
within  them.  Her  Sisters  in  religion  had  many  times  ex- 
perienced this  influence,  and  in  later  times,  when  the  re- 
nown of  her  sanctity  drew  persons  of  every  class  to  her 
from  far  and  near,  all  those  who  went  to  her  for  consolation 
bore  witness  to  this  experience.  God  frequently  led  great 
sinners  to  her,  who  had  long  since  given  themselves  up  to 
despair,  and  had  lost  courage  to  open  their  minds  to  their 
confessors.  Her  mere  presence  and  a  word  from  her  mouth 
dispelled  the  gloomy  spirit  of  despair.  The  heart  of  the 
poor  sinners  overflowed,  they  revealed  to  her  of  their  own 
free-will  and  consent  what  previously  they  could  not  re- 
solve to  tell  the  representative  of  Christ  under  the  seal  of 
confession.  After  this  her  consoling  words  infused  into 
these  depressed  souls  the  firm  hope  in  Christ  which  was 
living  in  her  own  heart.  She  told  them  that  no  sinner,  so 
long  as  he  sojourns  in  time,  has  any  well-founded  cause  for 
mistrust,  much  less  for  despair  ;  after  sinning,  there  is  in- 
deed cause  for  sorrow,  but  the  very  thing  that  leads  us  to 
contrition,  namely,  that  we  have  offended  such  a  good 
God,  is  also  an  effectual  reason  for  hoping  in  Him.  God  is 
good  to  all  who  hope  in  Him  ;  and  a  soul  seeking  Him 
with  a  true  confidence  will  find  Him.  Then  she  exhorted 
those  she  had  consoled  to  make  a  good  confession,  recom- 
mended them  to  a  father-confessor,  and  so  far  as  is  known, 
every  one  departed  from  her  with  an  altered  soul,  full  of 
trust. 

This  virtue  she  had  so  much  at  heart,  that  she  was  never 
tired  of  speaking,  hearing,  pondering  over  or  reading  of 
the  fidelity  and  infinite  mercy  of  God  towards  us.  She 
eagerly  cautioned  them  against  the  snares  of  Satan,  who  in- 


Hope,  Her  Strength.  1 1 5 

spires  pusillanimity  under  the  guise  of  humility,  well  know- 
ing that  he  labors  in  vain  so  long  as  the  soul  cherishes  the 
true  hope.  She  exhorted  every  one,  especially  in  the  hour 
of  suffering  and  trial,  to  protect  themselves  with  the  shield 
of  a  firm  trust  in  God.  Sufferings  were  sent  by  God  not  for 
our  destruction,  but  to  purify  us  from  our  faults,  and  to 
exercise  us  in  virtue.  To  live  in  pains  and  temptations  is 
the  greatest  gain.  Accompanied  and  supported  by  this 
brilliant  virtue,  she  trod  the  narrow  path  of  life  coura- 
geously, perseveringly,  progressing  from  virtue  to  virtue  and 
as  she  increased  in  age  increasing  also  in  peace,  in  love,  in 
interior  recollection,  and  in  longing  to  possess  the  Beloved 
One.  She  sighed  like  a  turtle  dove,  with  the  Psalmist : 
"  When  shall  I  come  and  appear  before  the  face  of  God  ?" ' 
"  I  await  death/'  she  said  with  pleasure,  "because  it  opens 
for  me  the  door  of  the  banqueting-room  of  Heaven."  And 
when  on  her  death-bed  this  desire  for  God  shone  brilliantly 
in  her  soul,  and  in  the  firmest  confidence  in  God  poured  it- 
self forth  in  ardent  aspirations.  "I  wish  to  be  dissolved," 
she  frequently  repeated,  "  as  soon  as  possible,  yet  not  a 
moment  sooner  than  it  pleases  God.  For  the  present,  my 
Heaven  consists  in  suffering,  and  in  fulfilling  God's  holy 
will  by  suffering."  Whoever  so  lives  and  dies  in  such  hope 
may  courageously  say:  "  In  Thee,  0  Lord,  have  I  hoped  ; 
let  me  never  be  confounded."  " 

0  Christian  !  In  all  the  storms  of  life  and  death,  never 
lose  hold  of  the  saving  anchor  which  God  has  given  you, 
and  the  more  it  seems  to  you  that  everything  is  lost,  so 
much  the  firmer  must  your  hold  be  of  the  word  of  the  Apos- 
tle: "  Let  us  hold  fast  the  confession  of  our  hope  without 
wavering  (for  He  is  faithful,  that  hath  promised)."3 

1  Ps.  xli.  3.          «  Ps.  xxx.  1.          3  Heb.  x.  23. 


CHAPTER  III. 
Love  without  Reservation.1 

[HE  words  of  St.  Gregory  may  be  appropriately  ap- 
plied to  this  seraphic  virgin:*  "There  are  some 
who,  inflamed  by  the  torches  of  the  higher  contem- 
plation, languish  with  desire  and  pant  after  their  Creator. 
These  never  rest  :  they  are  consumed  by  the  glow  of  love 
which  burns  in  themselves  and  they  kindle  the  flame  of  the 
love  of  God  in  others,  as  soon  as  they  touch  them,  though 
with  but  a  single  word.  What  could  I  call  these  souls,  but 
Seraphim,  since  their  hearts,  transformed  into  fire,  illumine 
and  burn?" 

From  the  time  that  Crescentia,  as  a  child,  had  been  favored 
with  the  vision  of  the  Infant  Jesus  which  we  have  already 
mentioned,  this  spark  of  heavenly  love,  not  seeking  its  own, 
was  enkindled  in  her  heart,  and  with  an  ever-increasing 
glow  became  so  intense  as  finally  to  consume,  not  only  her 
natural  failings,  but  at  length  her  bodily  life  also.  What 
she  understood  by  love  she  expresses  in  the  following  beau- 
tiful words:3  "  It  is  and  shall  be  the  only  business  of  my 
heart  to  love  and  know  God  and  to  work  for  love  of  Him, 
even  as  He  loves  and  knows  Himself  and  works  for  His  own 
honor;  to  live  for  love  of  God,  even  as  God  Himself  lives 
for  love;  to  speak  of  divine  things  with  such  a  love  as 
God  speaks  of  Himself  and  of  His  eternal  truths;  to  rivet 
*the  powers  of  the  soul  so  completely  to  the  Divine  Power, 
that  nothing  be  loved  save  God  only  and  what  belongs  to 
God;  to  be  grateful  with  a  divine  love,  to  the  highest  love  of 
God.  For  God  is  Love,  and  Power,  and  Strength."  This 
flame  she  could  not  keep  entirely  inclosed  within  her  heart, 
no  matter  how  hard  she  tried  to  conceal  her  virtues :  she 
revealed  herself  in  everything  she  said,  thought,  and  did  ; 
nay,  her  very  appearance  reflected  clearly  and  warmly  the 

>  Summ.  N.  9,  9  1, 630.          *  Horn.  ID  Ev.  1.  II-  N.  34.  *  Kolb.  p.  33. 


Love  without  Reservation.  1 1 7 

interior  fire,  namely,  "the  charity  of  God,  poured  forth  in 
our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  is  given  to  us." ' 

Her  conversations  on  love  could  only  proceed  from  a  heart 
entirely  filled  with  that  sentiment.  Words  cannot  depict 
the  fire  wherewith  she  exhorted  her  Sisters  in  religion  and 
every  one  who  lent  an  attentive  ear  to  her,  to  love  God 
and  to  retain  nothing  for  themselves  which  they  would 
not  be  willing  to  sacrifice  to  this  love.  Those  who  listened 
.to  her  when  speaking  on  this  subject,  acknowledged  that 
'they  had  never  heard  anything  that  could  be  compared  in 
lucidness  and  intensity  of  fervor  to  the  words  of  this  sim- 
ple and  uneducated  soul,  glowing  with  ardent  love.  "No 
one  ever  left  her  presence,"  says  a  witness,  "  without  tak- 
ing some  sparks  of  the  divine  love  caught  from  her." 
One  had  to  see  and  hear  her,  in  order  to  obtain  an  idea  of 
the  efficacy  of  her  words,  whenever  she  spoke  of  divine  love. 
"  Dearly  beloved  Sisters,"  she  said,  "  love  God,  love  God 
alone;  let  no  moment  pass  without  the  love  of  God.  Gild 
all  your  tasks,  even  the  smallest,  with  the  fire  of  love  ;  and 
this  when  you  work  as  well  as  when  you  suffer.  By  day  and 
night  say  hundreds  and  thousands  of  times  :  0  my  God, 
I  love  Thee  !  I  love  Thee  purely  for  Thine  own  sake,  be- 
cause Thou  art  the  Supreme  Good.  0  my  God !  1  rejoice 
with  my  whole  heart  that  Thou  art  this  Supreme  Good  ; 
that  Thou  art  all,  and  I  am  nothing.  0  God,  most  de- 
serving of  our  entire  love,  would  that  I  could  love  Thee,  as 
Thy  Divine  Mother,  as  the  holy  angels,  the  Saints  of  God, 
and  all  godly  souls,  including  the  souls  in  purgatory,  love 
Thee  ! " ' 

It  was  her  wish  that  the  Sisters  should  every  day  ask 
three  favors  of  God,  viz. :  The  greatest  hatred  of  every  sin, 
even  the  tiniest ;  the  most  perfect  love  of  God  ;  a  pure 
and  holy  love  of  their  neighbor.  "  0  dear  Lord  ! "  she 
would  then  exclaim  ;  "  Love,  Love  itself  !  0  how  sad  it 
is,  that  Love  is  not  loved  ;  taste  and  see  how  sweet  the 
Lord  is."  These  words  flashed  from  her  mouth  like  flames 

1  Rom.  v.  5.  2  Sumin.  X.  1J,  §"92. 


1 1 8        The  Life  of  Ven,  Mary  Crescentia. 

of  fire,  so  that  even  obdurate  hearts  were  moved  thereby. 

If  any  one  was  present  who  understood  how  to  speak  of 
the  love  of  God,  her  soul  would  rejoice  and  she  listened 
in  silence  like  an  humble  pupil,  apparently  quite  refreshed, 
both  in  soul  and  body,  by  this  water  of  life.  Often,  how- 
ever, her  own  fervor  broke  forth  in  flaming  words.  The 
following  passages,  written  down  by  herself  in  1723,  will 
give  the  reader  a  faint  idea  of  the  way  in  which  she  spoke 
of  love.1 

"  Love  gives  me  wings  with  which  I  may  soar  up  to 
the  throne  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  there  to  present  the 
needs  of  the  Catholic  Church  and  of  Christianity,  the 
state  of  infidels,  together  with  that  of  sinners,  and  of  the 
souls  in  purgatory.  Love  gives  me  wings  that,  like  a  dove, 
I  may  fly  to  near  and  distant  lands,  there,  by  the  power  of 
God,  to  preach  the  true  doctrine  and  announce  the  Gospel 
to  unbelievers.  Love  gives  me  wings  that,  like  a  bee,  I 
may  approach  every  creature  and  extract  from  it  the 
honey  of  love.  Love,  too,  is  the  best  teacher  ;  it  instructs 
me  how  to  conquer  myself,  how  to  obey,  how  to  suffer,  and 
how  to  keep  silence.  For  this  reason  I  surrender  myself  en- 
tirely to  love.  If  I  love  Thee,  0  my  God,  I  am,  by  that  very 
love,  as  strong  as  death.  By  love,  I  can  draw  down  from 
Heaven,  into  my  heart,  Thee,  the  Supreme  Good,  and 
with  Thee  I  can  pass  through  every  wall.  By  love,  I 
can  soften  the  obdurate  hearts  of  sinners  ;  I  can  break 
the  chains  made  through  sin.  By  love,  I  can  re- 
deem the  captives  of  purgatory.  By  love,  I  can  conquer 
my  evil  wishes,  my  vicious  nature,  my  wicked  self-will. 
By  love,  I  can  defeat  all  the  attacks  and  temptations  of 
hell.  By  love,  I  can  endure  all  hardships  and  pains.  By 
love,  I  can  constantly  love  God  more  and  more.  There- 
fore, I  will  now  begin,  in  all  earnestness  and  fervor,  to  love 
God  in  a  very  holy  manner,  so  that  I  may  attain  the  end 
for  which  I  was  created,  and  that  by  me  He  may  be 
praised,  loved,  and  honored  through  all  eternity." 

1  Kolb,  p.  97. 


Love  without  Reservation.  1 1 9 

These  words  concerning  love  already  prove  the  fervor 
of  the  love  within  her.  Other  expressions  and  prayers  give 
us  a  deeper  insight  into  this  seraphic  heart,  and  excite  our 
admiration  at  the  greatness  and  purity  of  her  love. 

"  I  could  not  live  if  there  were  anything  in  my  heart 
not  striving  after  God  and  His  love.  Nay,  if  I  had  a 
thousand  hearts,  with  all  of  them  I  would  love  God  and 
Him  alone  ;  for  He  alone  is  worthy  of  love.  My  life  is  to 
love,  and  my  love  is  to  suffer  ;  for  then  only  is  love 
worthy  of  the  name  of  love,  when  it  is  crucified.  If, 
then,  all  men  and  devils  were  to  persecute  and  tor- 
ment me  in  all  manner  of  ways,  it  would  only  be  pour- 
ing on  oil  to  cause  the  fire  of  love  within  me  to  blaze  with 
a  loftier  flame." 

At  another  time  she  said  :  "  If  I  knew  that  there  was  a 
drop  of  blood  within  me  that  did  not  love  God,  I  would 
immediately  let  it  out.  If  I  could  become  an  angel  by 
speaking  one  word  that  did  not  come  from  the  love  of 
God,  I  would  not  speak  that  word." 

In  the  year  1722  she  wrote  :  '  "0  Lord,  give  me  only 
love  for  Thee,  and  I  shall  be  rich  enough !  I  desire  nothing 
more,  save  that  Thou  shouldst  leave  me  in  my  nothing- 
ness, and,  if  I  may  so  express  myself,  from  the  very  vehe- 
mence of  love,  that  Thou  shouldst  continue  to  be  All, 
Thou,  who  in  Thy  infinite  perfection  art  always  like  unto 
Thyself,  and  art  All  in  All.  In  what  I  do,  I  will  love 
Thee  as  Thou  lovest  Thyself  ;  I  will  love  Thee  in  Thyself,  as 
in  the  Supreme  Good  which  Thou  art  to  me  ;  I  will  love 
Thee  in  Thy  divine  gifts  and  graces  ;  I  will  love  Thee, 
because  to  me  Thou  art  all  in  all ;  I  will  rejoice  in 
nothing  save  in  Thee  alone,  and  on  account  of  Thy  love." 

The  height  and  purity  of  her  love  were  more  clearly  and 
distinctly  marked  by  some  other  expressions.  With  a 
glowing  countenance,  overflowing  eyes,  and  indescribable 
fervor,  she  often  said :  "To  love  God  because  He  is 
what  He  is,"  and  not  seldom  was  she  thereby  rapt  in 

1  Roll),  1722. 


I2O        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ecstasy.  In  her  unguarded  moments,  she  was  at  times 
heard  sighing  thus  :  "  My  God,  I  love  Thee  above  all, 
because  in  Thyself  Thou  art  the  Supreme  and  Infinite 
Good  :  this  is  my  only  joy,  that  Thou  art  all  and  that  I 
am  nothing." 

The  love  of  complacency  in  the  infinite  beauty  and  per- 
fection of  God,  which  constitutes  that  sea  of  bliss  in 
Heaven,  in  which  all  the  members  of  the  triumphant 
Church  are,  as  it  were,  submerged,  was,  in  this  seraphic 
heart,  so  powerful,  so  continuous,  that  all  other  feelings 
were  thereby  silenced.  In  the  purest  love  she  wished 
nothing  for  herself,  but  all  for  her  Beloved,  and  because 
she  reserved  nothing  for  herself,  she  received,  instead  of 
joy  in  herself,  which  she  had  renounced,  the  joy  in  God 
and  from  God,  which  she  had  abandoned  to  Him  and  as- 
cribed to  Him  alone. 

The  following  prayer  preserved  by  Father  Ott  *  bears 
a  beautiful  testimony  to  the  sublime  purity  of  her  love  : 
"  I  rejoice  with  Thee  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  on  ac- 
count of  Thy  Divinity,  and  on  account  of  the  endless 
happiness  that  Thou  art  in  Thyself  and  that  Thou  enjoy- 
est  from  all  eternity.  Oh,  that  I  could,  alone,  render 
Thee  as  many  services  and  love  Thee  as  ardently  as  the 
whole  number  of  Thy  elect  love  Thee  !  Oh,  that  I  could 
love  God  as  His  Saints  love  Him  in  Heaven,  and  that 
there  were  many  millions  of  heavens  and  worlds,  so  that 
in  many  millions  of  ways  glory  and  honor  might  be  be- 
stowed on  my  Beloved  !  Ah  !  wound  my  heart  with  such 
a  wound  of  love,  that  I  may  love  Thee  infinitely  more  than 
I  love  myself  or  aught  else.  But  wound  it  also  with  suffer- 
ing, that  for  love  of  Thee  I  may,  throughout  all  time,  suffer 
more  and  more  and  be  by  all  men  contemned  and  de- 


Wishes,  such  as  those  so  often  uttered  by  Saints  in  an 
excess  of   the  pressure  of  love,  were  very  familiar  to  her.  * 
"Did  I  know  for  certain,"  she  said,   "that  I  had  but  a 
1  Ott.  B.  II.  C.  8.  *  Gabriel,  p.  71, 


Love  without  Reservation.  1 2 1 

single  moment  more  to  spend  on  earth,  and  that,  immedi- 
ately after  death,  I  was  to  be  condemned  by  God,  I  would 
still  love  this  all-loving  God  alone,  for  that  moment,  and 
hell  would  be  hell  to  me  because  there  we  cannot  love  God." 
But  since  love  consists  more  in  actions  than  in  ardent 
affections  or  grandiloquent  words,  we  must  apply  the  rule 
of  the  inner  and  outer  life,  in  order  to  acquire  a  correct 
knowledge  of  the  greatness  of  her  love. 

St.  Bonaventure  J  defines  the  highest  degree  of  love 
possible  here  on  earth  as  follows  :  "  The  highest  degree  of 
love  which  is  possible  on  earth,  is  reached  when  the  soul  is 
so  far  united  to  God  that  with  all  its  powers  and  faculties 
it  is  recollected  in  Him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  become  one 
spirit  with  Him,  so  that  it  remembers  nothing  outside  of 
Him,  and  that  all  the  affections  united  in  joyous  love  are 
at  rest  in  a  delightful  communing  with  the  Creator." 

Her  confessor,  Father  Pamer,  once  asked  her  what  she 
was  doing  day  and  night.  She  answered  :  "I  cannot  say 
otherwise  than  that  I  am  thinking  of  God,  I  am  loving 
God."  She  said  the  same  thing,  when  in  a  half -ecstatic 
state,  to  her  beloved  Sister  in  religion,  M.  Joachim.  In  her 
resolutions  of  the  year  1741,  we  read: 2  "  I  will  constantly 
raise  up  my  mind  to  Thee,  and  in  the  most  profound  re- 
pose and  quietude  of  my  heart,  by  a  peculiar  light  and  per- 
ception, I  will  meditate  upon,  marvel  at,  and  delight  in 
Thy  divine  perfections." 

Outward  occupations  did  not  disturb  this  interior  unin- 
terrupted intercourse  of  love  with  the  beloved  One  ;  be- 
cause it  was  sustained  by  an  entirely  extraordinary  light 
and  was  exercised  with  amazing  facility  in  the  most  pro- 
found depths  of  her  soul,  which  soul  was,  with  her 
higher  countenance,  as  mystics  express  it,  turned  wholly  to 
God.  Nay,  whatever  happened  to  her  outwardly  seemed 
to  fan  still  more  this  interior  flame.  A  single  word  about 
God  and  divine  things  was  a  breeze  which  at  once  struck  the 

1  De  Process.  Rellar.  u  Kolb,  p.  50. 


122        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent  ia. 

strings  of  her  heart,  causing  them  to  resound  with  the  mel- 
odies of  love.  And  since  every  tiling  .was  to  her  spiritual 
eye  a  mirror  of  God  and  the  Godlike,  so  everything  gave 
forth  to  her  ear  an  invitation  to  love,  which  excited  her 
heart  to  a  renewal  of  that  sentiment.  Thus  she  rejoiced  in 
all  the  works  of  God's  hands.  In  the  beautiful  she  bclu-M 
the  Most  Beautiful,  in  every  melodious  sound  she  heard  the 
echoes  of  the  Highest  Love,  and  in  this  way  she  followed 
every  trace  which  God  has  left  of  Himself  among  His 
creatures.  Panting  with  desire,  she  was  ever  pursuing 
her  Beloved.  And  thus,  even  as  creatures  became  a  lad- 
der to  her  soul  to  enable  her  to  ascend  to  the  first  Truth 
and  Beauty,  so  they  also  became  a  magnet  to  her  heart, 
drawing  it  beyond  all  gifts  to  the  Giver,  whose  original 
goodness,  love,  and  beauty  she  was  seeking,  and  of  which 
she  obtained  a  taste  from  the  little  brook  of  crea- 
tures which  flowed  from  this  great  ocean.  "My  Be- 
loved/' she  said,  "reveals  Himself  to  me  in  all  that 
I  see  or  hear.  Everywhere  He  meets  me,  everywhere  He 
follows  me  ;  in  short,  He  is  mine,  and  I  am  His."  In  the 
year  1727  she  writes  thus  : '  "  Because  God  created  all 
things  for  His  own  love  and  honor,  therefore  must  God  be 
honored  in  and  by  all  His  creatures,  with  the  same  love 
and  honor  with  which  He  honors  Himself.  I  will  leave 
off  loving  myself  ;  Thee  alone  will  I  love,  0  my  God,  and 
indeed  so  thoroughly  will  I  love  Thee  alone,  that  I  may  be- 
come one  with  Thee."  In  the  year  1722  she  writes  thus  :  * 
"0  God,  as  far  as  I  can,  I  separate  myself  from  all  crea- 
tures, to  give  to  Thee,  my  Creator,  my  entire  love  !  I  will 
love  the  Creator  in  all  creatures,  because  I  find  in  every 
one  of  them  signs,  nay,  as  it  were,  footprints  of  my  God." 
These  traces  of  divine  omnipotence,  beauty,  and  love, 
met  her  in  every  grain  of  sand,  and  in  every  leaf  of  a  tree, 
with  an  exhortation  to  love.  Flowers  and  stars  filled  her 
mouth  with  thanksgiving  and  praise  sent  to  the  Triune, 
and  her  heart  was  lighted  up  by  a  flame  that  transfigured 

>  Kolb,  p.  34.  *  Ibid.  p.  23. 


Love  without  Reservation.  123 

her,  as  she  stood  rapt  in  ecstasy,  with  her  eyes  fixed  on 
Heaven.  She  named  the  stars  chandeliers  burning  before 
the  throne  of  God,  or  sometimes  she  called  them  a  bril- 
liant diadem  of  her  Beloved.  "You  are  indeed  beautiful/' 
she  would  add,  "  but  how  much  more  beautiful  is  the 
great  God  who  created  you  out  of  nothing !  Ah  !  crown 
His  head,  and  tell  Him  that  I  love  Him." 

The  singing  of  birds  made  a  similar  impression  on  her. 
Like  her  Seraphic  Father,  Francis  of  Assisi,  and  the  holy 
virgin,  St.  Eose  of  Lima,  who  were  animated  with  a  like 
fervor,  Crescentia  vied  with  the  birds  in  praising  the  Lord. 
"  Beloved  birds/'  she  would  say,  '  "  strike  up  the  hymn  of 
love  and  praise  to  my  Beloved."  Then,  oft-times  she  would 
find  fault  with  herself:*  "0  God,  what  a  difference  be- 
tween these  Thy  creatures  and  myself  !  Thou  givest  to 
the  bird  only  food  and  water,  and  for  this  little  provision  he 
sings  with  all  his  might  in  thanksgiving  to  his  Creator. 
But  I,  who  have  received  such  great  graces  from  God,  love 
and  thank  Him  so  little,  nay,  even  offend  Him  ! " 

Blest  eyes  of  a  loving  heart  !  They  penetrate  the  dark 
veil  of  creatures,  and  behind  the  shadow  of  finite  things 
perceive  the  Eternal  Light  which,  unmixed  and  infinite  in 
its  sublimity,  supports  all  things,  sustains,  vivifies,  and 
gives  motion  to  all  below,  and  which,  without  being  in 
any  degree  finite  itself,  is  nevertheless  in  all  and  above  all. 
From  this  interior  light,  which  beholds  the  Supreme  One  in 
the  least  of  finite  things,  and  in  the  meanest  creature  loves 
the  Most  High  God,  the  following  sayings,  to  which  she  fre- 
quently gave  utterance,  proceeded  :  "  My  God,  I  do  not 
see  Thee  face  to  face ;  nevertheless,  I  am  already  hapj*y, 
for  I  love  Thee.  Every  creature  invites  us  to  love  ;  for 
the  Creator  manifests  Himself  in  His  creatures.  The  crea- 
ture is  a  ladder,  an  incentive  leading  to  God.  It  seems  to 
me  as  if  there  were  nothing  existing  save  God  and  Crescen- 
tia. My  home  is  in  the  heart  of  Jesus :  there  I  dwell  as  in 

,,   SANTA  BARBARA, 


124        The  Life  of  Ven,  Mary  Crescentia. 

a  sweet  and  lovely  solitude,  intimately  united  to  God,  even 
in  the  tumult  of  human  affairs." 

Such  a  love  endures  no  word,  no  work,  not  even  a  wish 
or  a  thought,  as  far  as  these  are  voluntary,  which  does  not 
come  from  or  exist  on  account  of  love.  This  she  ex- 
pressed in  the  beautiful  words  :  "No  heart  but  to  love, 
for  love,  on  account  of  love,"  which  in  fact  she  practised 
day  and  night.  As  Sister  Gabriel  says,  in  spite  of  her 
many  affairs  she  never  did  go  forth  from  herself  or  from 
God.  By  the  most  sublime  intentions  she  connected 
every  temporal  work  with  Heaven,  or  rather  with  Christ. 
Hear  what  she  says  herself  :  "In  my  little  occupations 
nothing  human  shall  intermingle  ;  love  alone  shall  rule  ; 
the  beginning,  the  centre,  and  the  end  shall  be  love,  name- 
ly :  at  the  beginning  of  the  work  I  will  do  the  will  of  God 
from  love  ;  at  the  middle  I  will  obey  for  love  ;  at  the  end  I 
will  love  as  Christ  has  loved.  Xot  I,  but  God  and  Christ 
live  in  me  through  love  and  suffering.  Grant,  then,  0  God, 
that  love  and  suffering  may  increase  within  me,  that  with 
the  cheerful  mind  that  proceeds  from  love  I  may  love  Thee 
ever  more  and  more  !  " 

All  kinds  of  love,  the  acts  of  complacency,  of  well- 
wishing,  of  resignation,  of  contrition,  succeeded  each  other 
and  made  of  every  day  an  uninterrupted,  marvellously  vary- 
ing golden  chain  of  love.  The  simplest,  together  with  the 
sublimest  exercises  and  expressions  are  found  therein. 
Let  us  hear  more  of  them  :  "  This  alone  gives  me  heartfelt 
joy,  that  God  is  what  He  is  in  Himself,  0  my  God,  my 
only  Good,  my  all ! '  0  God,  I  give  Thee  Thyself  ;  every- 
thing that  Thou  art  in  Thyself  !  I  salute  Thee,  Most  Holy 
Trinity,  through  Thy  sweetly-sonorous  and  incomprehensible 
heart,  and  I  praise  Thee  with  the  honor  Thou  hast  been  unto 
Thyself  from  all  eternity,  which  Thou  hast  given  Thyself 
from  eternity  to  the  present  time,  which  Thou  wilt 
render  to  Thyself  for  all  eternity,  and  which  will  be  given 
unto  Thee  by  all  angels  and  men  throughout  eternity.*  I 

ffn  of  savings. 


Love  zvithout  Reservation.  125 

desire  to  love  Thee,  as  all  the  holy  angels  love  Thee,  and 
as  Mary,  the  Mother  of  God,  and  the  humanity  of  Jesus 
Christ  love  Thee  eternally.  But  above  all,  I  wish  that  I 
had  Thy  own  Sacred  Heart,  that  with  it  I  might  suffi- 
ciently love  Thee,  0  most  beautiful  God  !  But  what  re- 
joices me  most,  is  that  Thou,  0  Supreme  Good,  canst  love 
Thyself  sufficiently  and  in  a  manner  worthy  of  Thyself  ! " 

That  the  love  of  Crescentia  was  no  mere  fanatical 
ebullition  of  feeling,  but  a  power  of  God,  is  proved  by 
three  effects,  which  were  manifested  in  her  in  a  very  high 
degree,  namely,  her  angelic  purity  of  conscience,  her 
ardent  thirst  for  greater  love,  as  well  as  for  greater  suf- 
fering. Conscience  is  pure,  in  the  measure  in  which  God's 
will  rules  the  human  being.  Ven.  Crescentia's  mottoes 
were  :  '  "God's  will  is  my  will." — "My  food  is  to  do  the 
will  of  my  Father." — "  Nothing  of  my  own  will  is  re- 
served." Indefatigably  she  repeated  :  "  Thy  most  holy 
will  be  done,  0  God  !"  She  used  also  to  say  often  :  "I 
would  rather  lift  a  straw  from  the  ground  by  the  will  of 
God,  than  raise  a  hundred  dead  men  to  life  by  my  own 
will." 

She  knew  how  true  was  the  saying  of  an  old  master  : 
"In  order  that  God  may  enter  a  heart,  the  creature 
must  first  depart  from  it."  For  this  reason  she  en- 
deavored, with  astonishing  zeal  and  perseverance,  to  divest 
herself  of  even  the  faintest  particle  of  love  of  the  world,  to- 
gether with  that  of  her  own  free-will,  and  to  sacrifice  her 
liberty,  without  reserve,  to  the  divine  will,  that  thus  she 
might  attain  to  the  full  liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 
According  to  the  word  of  the  Lord:  "  He  that  hath  My 
commandments  and keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me,"8 
she  observed,  with  unswerving  fidelity,  all  the  command- 
ments of  God,  of  the  Church,  and  of  her  Rule,  from  the  very 
first  day  of  her  entering  into  religion,  with  such  exactitude, 
that  even  envious  and  malevolent  observers  never  could  dis- 
cover the  slightest  transgression  of  even  the  least  rule;  this 
1  Gabriel,  p.  87.  2  John  xlv.  21. 


1 26        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

was  publicly  affirmed  by  Sisters  who  had  lived  with  her  for 
forty  years.  In  this  matter  she  did  not  trust  to  herself,  but 
several  times,  with  the  general  and  particular  printed  ex- 
aminations in  hand,  she  examined  with  painful  exactness 
every  step  she  had  taken,  every  thought,  and  every  word,  so 
that  no  fault  might  be  overlooked.  These  she  noted  in  a 
little  book  she  kept  for  that  purpose. 

Her  heart  was  pierced  when  she  saw  or  heard  any  Sisters 
not  caring  about  keeping  the  Rule  in  minor  details,  and 
when  they  excused  themselves  by  saying  :  "  This  Rule  does 
not  bind  under  pain  of  sin."  "With  sighs  and  tears 
she  would  then  say  that  such  talk  as  that  is  the  language 
and  Rule  of  a  luke-warm  religious,  that  it  leads  to  indiffer- 
ence in  regard  to  perfection,  and  is  by  all  means  to  be 
avoided,  because,  even  in  minor  matters,  we  either  please  or 
displease  God. 

The  purity  of  her  conscience  astonished  all  her  confes- 
sors. We  have  from  them  all,  beginning  with  her  first 
confessor,  Rev.  Charles  Heiland,  to  whom  she  confessed 
while  living  in  the  world,  express  testimony,  not  only  that 
she  had  ever  retained  her  baptismal  innocence,  but  that  in 
her  whole  life  they  could  scarcely  discover  anything  which 
was  for  certain  even  a  venial  sin  of  her  youth,  so  that  they 
could  base  an  absolution  upon  it.  So  say  Father  Lachner, 
S.  J.,  who  was  her  confessor  for  six  years;  Father  Barthol- 
omaus  Binner,  who  tried  her  almost  too  severely  ;  Father 
Michael  Bauer  ;  and  Father  Pamer.  Father  Bonifacius 
Schmidt,  the  Provincial,  her  extraordinary  confessor,  assures 
us  that  if  an  angel  were  to  confess,  his  confession  would 
scarcely  be  different  from  hers. 

The  greatness  of  her  love  caused  such  an  abhorrence  of 
sin  in  her  soul,  that  she  would  turn  pale  at  the  mere  men- 
tion of  it,  and  would  exclaim  with  incredible  emotion  :  "0 
my  God  !  only  no  sin  !  send  me  whatever  Thou  pleasest : 
sickness,  sorrow,  contempt,  sufferings  of  the  soul,  only  no 
sin  !  no  sin  for  all  eternity  !  I  had  rather  endure  all  the 
pains  of  purgatory  from  now  to  the  last  day,  than  commit 


Love  without  Reservation.  127 

one  venial  sin. ''  At  times  she  expressed  herself  more  forci- 
bly yet,  saying:  "  0  Lord,  were  it  possible,  I  would  rather 
suffer  the  pains  of  hell  without  sin,  than  be  in  Heaven  with 
a  venial  sin  ! "  This  abhorrence  of  sin  reached  such  a 
height  that  she  besought  the  Lord  rather  to  let  her  die,  than 
to  offend  Him  by  a  mere  imperfection.  The  least  neglect 
in  spiritual  life  was  more  abhorrent  to  her  than  a  serious 
crime  is  to  many  an  ordinary  Christian.  "  0  Divine  Sow- 
er," she  writes,1  "do  not  permit  me  to  suppress  by  my 
carelessness,  or  suffocate  by  my  sins,  the  divine  seed  which 
Thou,  from  pure  grace,  hast  sowed  in  my  barren  heart.  I 
will  diligently  look  after  the  field  of  my  heart  by  general 
and  particular  examinations,  and  when  I  find  weeds  there- 
in, I  will  root  them  up,  as  far  as  I  can,  by  contrition  and 
sorrow,  by  confession  and  penance."  This  she  did  al- 
so, after  the  example  of  all  the  Saints,  and  experienced  an 
incredible  sorrow  of  contrition  at  every  little  speck  of 
sin,  which  she,  illumined  by  the  sunlight  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  noticed  or  thought  she  noticed  within  herself. 

She  confessed  every  week,  at  least  two  or  three  times, 
and  during  the  last  years,  nearly  every  day.  She  prepared 
herself  very  carefully  for  confession,  sometimes  for  hours, 
and  for  the  most  part  experienced  such  profound  contrition, 
that  she  shed  many  tears  and  could  not  suppress  loud  sobs. 
She  then  appeared  as  cast  down  and  as  contrite  as  if  she 
had  been  a  criminal  led  forth  to  execution.  Her  Sisters 
could  not  look  at  her  without  compassion,  nor  indeed  with- 
out a  feeling  of  shame  and  a  salutary  emotion  conducing  to 
contrition.  In  the  confessional  she  shed  so  many  tears,  that 
the  Sisters  who  came  after  her  often  found  the  place  wet 
with  these  precious  tears  of  penitential  love,  and  the  confes- 
sors themselves  were  confused  and  touched  by  such  a  sor- 
row for  faults  in  which  they  could  not  find  sufficient  mat- 
ter for  absolution. a  The  acts  of  contrition  which  she 
made  in  the  confessional  were,  as  Father  Pamer  expresses 
himself,  so  intense,  that  it  seemed  as  if  her  heart  was  about 


Kolb,  p.  17.  »  Summ.  \.  9,  §  300,  302. 


128        The  Life  of  Vcu.  Mary  Crescent 'i<r. 

to  burst  from  her  bosom.  As  soon  as  she  left  the  confes- 
sional, however,  she  appeared  entirely  changed,  as  if  she 
was  endowed  with  new  life,  and  beaming  with  joy  and  con- 
solation ;  she  then  poured  forth  from  her  heart  long  and 
fervent  acts  of  thanksgiving.  This  great  contrition,  pro- 
ceeding from  love,  was  a  grace  which  she  had  repeatedly 
and  continuously  implored  of  the  Sacred  Heart.  She  writes 
in  the  year  1740: '  "  Oh,  my  merciful,  beloved  Jesus  !  Give 
me  tears,  that  I  may  bewail  and  repent  of  my  sins  !  I  am 
not — Thou  knowest  it  well — a  Moses  to  call  forth  a  spring, 
by  knocking  at  the  hard  rock  of  my  heart.  Thou  know- 
est that  I  do  not  possess  the  love  of  the  much-loving  Mag- 
dalen; Thou  knowest  that  I  can  do  nothing  without  Thee." 

Such  a  perfectly  penitential  life  produced  the  effect  that 
in  the  last  twenty  years  of  her  life  she  became,  as  it  were, 
dead  to  the  world  and  to  herself,  and  without  difficulty  con- 
trolled all  the  impulses  of  nature.  Like  the  blessed  angels, 
she  was  scarcely  conscious  any  longer  of  the  first  move- 
ments of  resistance  of  repugnant  nature,  and  could  there- 
fore concentrate  her  strength  on  the  uninterrupted  exercise 
of  love,  instead  of  having  to  use  it  in  overcoming  inordinate 
self-love. 2  Such  a  pure  heart  is  the  most  glorious  and 
pleasing  temple  of  the  Saviour  ;  He  comes  and  takes  His 
abode  therein,  because  "  to  be  divested  of  every  creature 
means  to  be  full  of  God,"  as  an  old  teacher  of  spiritual  life 
expresses  it.  Hence  the  Saviour  said,  in  a  vision  to  His  be- 
loved child,  Crescentia:"  "My  child,  I  like  to  dwell  in  a 
,  pure  heart ;  therein  is  My  joy  and  My  pleasure.  Blessed 
are  the  pure  of  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

When  a  soul  has  obtained  a  high  degree,  not  of  imper- 
fect contrition,  but  of  a  contrition  springing  from  pure 
love,  she  then  feels  nearly  the  same  sorrow  for  the 
sins  of  others  as  for  her  own ;  and  this  pure  virgin, 
loving  God  as  she  did,  had  no  greater  cross  on  earth  than 
that  of  beholding  that  Love,  Love  made  flesh,  is  not  loved 
upon  earth,  but  is  so  often  atrociously  offended.  When 

>  Kolb.  p.  42.  »  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  4. 


Love  without  Reservation.  129 

she  heard  of  great  sins  committed  by  others,  she  turned  as 
pale  as  death,  terror  was  depicted  in  her  countenance,  she 
could  not  suppress  the  emotion  of  grief ;  she  exclaimed  : 
"Oh,  what  a  frightful  thing  is  sin  !  Woe  !  woe  !  how  it 
torments  me  that  Love  is  not  loved  ! "  With  a  bleeding 
heart  and  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  she  would  then  call  on 
Heaven  for  grace  and  mercy  for  these  unfortunate  sinners 
and  for  removing  such  a  dishonor  from  the  Divine  Majes- 
ty. "  Defend  Thyself,  0  Lord/'  she  sighed,  "  defend  Thy- 
self from  such  monstrosities  committed  against  Thee  by 
men  !  Either  prevent  them  by  Thy  Omnipotence,  or  at 
least  annihilate  these  injustices  by  an  immediate  interpo- 
sition of  Thy  mercy." 

She  then  felt  an  almost  invincible  pressure  urging  her 
to  make  some  atonement  to  the  Divine  Majesty  by  perform- 
ing severe  penances  in  union  with  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
Then,  in  no  way  relying  on  her  own  actions,  she  besought 
her  Sisters  in  religion  with  burning  words,  to  love  God 
more  and  to  implore  Him  that  no  more  sins  be  committed. 
"  Because/'  she  said,  "  if  by  our  prayers  and  penances  we 
prevent  but  one  sin,  it  will  be  of  more  worth  than  if  we 
were  doing  heroic  acts  before  men  and  even  raising  the  dead 
to  life.  What  a  horrible  thing  it  is  to  offend  God  !  Oh, 
beloved  Sisters,  only  no  sin  ! "  How  she  sought  to  atone 
for  the  sins  of  others  and  how  to  prevent  them  we  shall  re- 
late further  on. 

The  word  of  the  Lord  :  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger 
and  thirst  after  justice,  for  they  shall  have  their  fill,"  '  is 
said  of  love.  It  is  peculiar  to  love  always  to  hunger  and 
thirst  after  greater  love,  for  although  it  already  fills  the 
heart  in  some  way  or  other  on  earth,  yet  this  satiating 
and  appeasing  only  gives  rise  to  an  increase  of  hunger,  in 
complete  contrast  to  what  takes  place  with  regard  to  our 
physical  needs,  in  which  desire,  when  succeeded  by  its  ful- 
filment, is  naturally  superseded  :  so  that  one  excludes  the 
other. 

1  Matth.  v.  6. 


130        T.  he  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

St.  Laurence  Justinian  says: '  "  When  a  soul  is  altogeth- 
er burning  with  love,  even  the  constant  exterior  increase 
seems  to  it  too  little,  from  the  intense  desire  it  cherishes 
for  a  still  greater  love."  Love  of  God  knows  no  word 
like:  "It  is  enough."  With  the  seraphic  Crescentia 
this  hunger  grew  greater  and  greater,  till  it  became  a  true, 
though  sweet,  martyrdom.  We  will  add  a  few  beautiful 
expressions  of  hers  to  the  testimonies  we  have  already  ad- 
duced. In  the  year  1727  *  she  wrote  :  "  My  joy  shall  be  to 
grow  and  increase  in  the  Lord  in  suffering,  in  love  !  I 
will  frequently  contemplate,  with  deep  interior  attention, 
the  infinite  perfections  of  God,  and  especially  dwell  with 
marvellous  admiration  on  His  love,  that  I  may  come  to 
know  God  rightly,  to  enjoy  Him,  and  aspire  to  Him,  and 
always  do  that  which  is  most  perfect  in  His  sight.  I  will 
love  Thee,  0  Divine  Majesty,  0  my  most  beloved  Jesus,  as 
the  angels  and  as  the  Seraphim  love  Thee.  My  Divine 
Spouse  says  to  me  :  '  Be  perfect  as  your  heavenly  Father 
is  perfect/  I  will  immerse  my  humanity  in  the  divine  es- 
sence and  love  Thee  as  Thy  Divine  Father  loves  Thee. 
Would  I  could  love  Thee  like  God,  could  suffer  like 
Jesus,  rejoice  like  God,  and  yet  remain,  the  while,  buried 
in  my  own  nothingness."  This  lofty  flight  of  love  shows 
how  nearly  she  had  attained  what  St.  Paul  expresses 
in  the  words  :  "  But  he  who  is  joined  to  the  Lord,  is 
one  spirit," 3  and  this  not  in  the  Pantheistic  sense,  but 
in  that  of  the  most  wonderful  and  comprehensive  union. 
And  since  her  own  heart  did  not  suffice  to  the  love  for 
which  she  longed,  she  desired  to  inflame  all  hearts,  that 
by  them  God  might  be  loved  in  a  higher  degree.  She 
writes  in  the  year  1729: «  "  I  offer  Thee,  therefore,  my  heart 
and  all  the  hearts  of  the  whole  human  race,  and  place  them 
in  Thy  Divine  Heart,  0  'Lord,  for  an  eternal  love.  I  pray 
Thee  make  of  all  these  hearts  but  one  heart,  but  one  fire, 
but  one  love  !  " 

Sister  Kafael  Miller  says  :    "To   excite   me  to  love  and 

1  De  Disciplin.  Monast.,  C.  6.       »  Kolb,  p.  35.       3  I.  Cor.  vl.  17.       4  Kolb,  p.  39. 


Love  without  Reservation.  \  3 1 

chase  away  my  lukewarmness,  Crescentia  said  to  me,  that 
every  day  she  made  a  compact  of  love  with  God,  with  the 
purpose  and  intention  that  every  beat  of  her  pulse/  every 
breath  she  drew,  and  every  movement  of  her  body,  by  day 
and  night,  should  be  so  many  acts  of  love  and  sighs  of  burn- 
ing fervor,  in  order  to  attain  that  love  that  is  completely 
merged  in  Jesus  Christ.  Wounded  by  the  arrow  of  heav- 
enly love,  she  even  dreamed  about  it  and  made  acts  of  love 
in  her  sleep.  She  sighed  and  conjured  all  the  Saints  and 
angels  with  the  words  of  the  bride  in  the  Canticles  :  "  If 
you  find  my  Beloved,  tell  Him  that  I  languish  with  love." 
About  this  she  once  said  : l  "  The  quiet  night  is  the  best 
time  to  love,  which  fact  must  be  well  considered  by  a 
spouse  of  Jesus  Christ.  Every  person  consecrated  to  God 
must  not  only  be  engaged  in  love  for  Him  during  the  day, 
but  must  continue  this  exercise  during  the  night,  even  in 
sleep,  by  making  an  intention  to  that  effect,  beforehand; 
for  love  must  never  rest." 

This  thirst  for  love  had  encouraged  her  to  make  that 
sublime  vow,  to  do  in  all  things  what  she  considered  to 
be  the  most  perfect ;  which  vow,  from  the  testimony  of 
her  confessors,2  Fathers  Januarius  Mayr  and  John  Baptist 
Pamer,  she  certainly  made.  This  vow,  by  which  she  bound 
herself  to  avoid,  not  only  the  least  sin,  but  every  known  im- 
perfection, she  took,  with  the  permission  of  her  father  con- 
fessor, in  the  year  1725 — shortly  after  Christmas — and  kept  it 
faithfully  for  nineteen  years,  until  her  death.  But  all  this  by 
no  means  satisfied  her  hunger  for  love;  she  always  believed 
she  was  trespassing  against  the  Highest  Love  by  her  own 
want  of  love.  With  tears  she  would  exclaim  :  "  0  my  God, 
how  canst  Thou  suffer  on  earth  so  miserable  and  sinful  a 
creature  as  I  am,  who  am  not  worthy  that  the  sun  should 
shine  upon  me  ?  Let  me  know  myself,  let  me  know  Thee, 
hope  in  Thee,  love  Thee.  Until  now,  although  I  am  old, 
I  have  not  yet  properly  begun  to  love.  To-day  I  will  be- 
gin to  love  Thee  in  very  truth.'' 

1  Gabriel,  p.  75.  z  3umm.  N.  9,  8  590,  and  Act.  B.  Inform-  N.  111. 


132        The  Life  of  l\-n.  Mary  Crescentia. 

She  was  not  satisfied  with  the  love  attained  until  this 
time;  she  still  stretched  forward  to  what  was  before  her, 
to  the  possession  of  the  Supreme  Good  through  love.  "  0 
my  dear  Sisters,"  she  said,  '  "  let  us  ascend  up  to  Heaven  ; 
up  to  Heaven,  to  God,  let  us  fly  !  Who  will  give  me  wings 
like  a  dove,  that  I  may  fly  and  rest  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock, 
in  the  sacred  hollow  places  of  my  Beloved  ?  If,  in  or- 
der to  find  my  Beloved,  I  had  to  climb  the  highest  mount- 
ain, with  great  labor  and  in  danger  of  death,  or  that  it  were 
needful  to  dive  into  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  I  would  not 
hesitate  a  moment,  but  would  undertake  to  do  so  with 

joy/' 

Another  time  she  exclaims:  *  "  0  my  God,  I  succumb  to 
Thy  sweet  power  !  I  cannot  do  more,  my  poor  heart  is  too 
little.  0  great  God,  instead  of  my  loving  Thee,  love  Thou 
Thyself,  as  Thou  art  infinitely  worthy  of  it ! "  This  desire 
finally  made  her  a  true  martyr  of  love.  "  0  God,"  she  said, 
"  this  pain  surpasses  all  other  pain  !  To  suffer  for  God  is 
the  highest  joy  and  delight ;  but  not  to  be  able  to  love  Him 
enough  is  a  great  martyrdom.  I  love  God  so  much  that  I 
almost  die  of  it.  But  if  this  love  were  taken  from  me,  I 
should  absolutely  die,  because  I  was  not  loving  my  Love." 

These  expressions  cannot  be  understood  by  such  as  love 
not  God,  but  they  are  very  familiar  to  the  great  Saints. 
It  is  not  a  play  on  words  but  a  great  truth,  the  fullest 
truth,  that  is  contained  in  the  following  verses  of  St. 
Theresa,  which  we  add  here  as  a  parallel  to  the  sentiments 
expressed  above  : — 

YKKSEB  BY  ST.  THERESA. 

I  live !  yet  not  in  self  I  live! 

My  wooing  doth  such  living  give 

That  'tis  in  dying  not,   I  die, 

For  what  is  life  with  Thee  not  nigh  ? 

With  Thee  remote  what  dotli  remain, 

In  very  truth,  but  death's  sharp  pain, 

»  Gabriel,  p.  T4.          *  Ott,  p.  60. 


Love  without  Reservation.  133 

More  bitter  than  the  world  can  see  ? 
I  woo  the  wail  of  sympathy  ; 
For  the  sharp  pain  'neath  which  I  sigh, 
Is — that  in  dying  not — I  die. 

This  interior  fire  of  the  soul  produced  its  effects  on  the 
Ven.  Crescentia's  body  ;  feeble  and  emaciated  as  that  body 
was,  a  remarkable  heat  was  diffused  through  it,  even  in 
the  cold  of  winter.  The  Sisters  noticed  it  when  she  was 
so  weak  that  they  had  to  support  or  sometimes  to  carry 
her  into  the  choir.  Her  hands  were  so  warm,  even  during 
the  severest  cold  that  it  was  noticed  their  warmth  com- 
municated itself  through  the  three-fold  garments  of  others. 
She  frequently  could  not  endure  the  exceeding  heat  burn- 
ing in  her  veins,  but  had  to  obtain  relief  by  the  application 
of  cold  poultices. '  Her  frequent  attacks  of  violent  bleed- 
ing of  the  nose  are  probably  to  be  attributed  to  this  cause  ; 
it  seems,  even,  that  most  of  her  sicknesses  were  occasioned 
by  it.  This  was  the  opinion  of  the  physicians  who  attended 
her,  even  of  the  Protestant  doctor  and  apothecary,  Mr. 
Schmid,  who  visited  her  in  a  serious  attack  of  sickness  she 
had  two  years  previous  to  her  happy  death.  He  spoke  of 
it  publicly,  and  thought  that  no  medicine  could  cool  the 
inward  heat  consuming  her,  because  it  was  supernatural 
and  came  from  God,  from  which  he  believed  that  this 
nun  had  an  extraordinary  love  for  God."  The  ecstasies, 
returning  nearly  every  day,  are,  in  fact,  but  manifestations 
and  effects  of  love,  of  a  love  so  great  that  the  weak  vessel 
of  frail  nature  could  not  absorb  these  effects  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  This  Holy  Spirit  worked  so  powerfully  within 
her,  that  she  was  even  in  her  normal  state  more  passive 
than  active  at  prayer  when  she  made  her  acts  of  love. 
God  was  near  to  her  as  an  immeasurable  light,  casting  its 
rays  into  her  interior,  inflaming  it  and  so  moving  it  that  she 
believed  herself  to  be  living  and  acting  within  this  very 
light.  In  the  course  of  years  her  interior  life  was  trans- 
figured into  an  incredible  state  of  repose,  peace,  and  firm- 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  3,  and  Gabriel.  "  Summ.  N.  9,  §  513. 


134        '1  he  Life  of  Yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ness,  us  if  her  soul  were  immovably  attached  to  Him  who 
is  immovability  itself. 

But  the  pure  gold  of  her  love  was  more  surely  tested  by 
the  crosses  and  sufferings  which  are  the  touch-stone  of 
love,  than  by  all  her  mystic  states.  Great  love  cannot  ex- 
ist without  love  for  suffering.  We  will  relate  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter  in  what  a  high  degree  this  seraphic  soul 
possessed  and  practised  a  true  love  of  the  cross.  As  a  con- 
clusion to  this  one,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  note  some  resolu- 
tions and  affections  referring  both  to  suffering  and  to  love. ' 

"  Oh,  what  a  consolation  it  is,  what  a  pleasure,  what  sweet 
delight,  to  love  Thee  alone,  0  Highest  Good,  to  serve  Thee, 
to  cling  to  Thee  !  If,  instead  of  heavenly  wine,  Thou  givest 
me  to  drink  of  genuine  wine  mixed  with  myrrh,  the  love 
that  suffers  for  Thee  is  still  sweet  and  lovely.  Yes,  indeed, 
the  more  Thou  visitest  me  with  bitterness,  the  more  con- 
soling to  me,  the  more  endearing  is  Thy  love,  0  God ! 
Lord,  give  me  a  love  that  suffers  firmly,  constantly, 
and  immovably  ;  such  as  no  waters  of  affliction  can 
quench.  Since  true  love  consists  in  suffering,  I  be- 
seech Thee,  0  God,  that  I  may  suffer !  suffer  and  not  die  ; 
and  when  it  is  Thy  will  that  I  should  die,  let  me  not  die 
merely  to  pay  the  debt  of  nature,  but  out  of  pure  love 
for  Thee.  0  Lord,  I  say  with  the  prophet  Isaias  :  Shoot 
at  me  !  I  am  prepared  like  a  target  at  which  they  shoot 
with  arrows.  What  could  make  one  happier,  than  to  be 
wounded  by  an  arrow  of  the  love  of  God,  discharged  by 
God  Himself?  Behold,  0  Lord,  my  heart  is  open  and  ready 
for  Thee  :  shoot  and  hit  me  with  the  sweet  arrow  of  divine 
love  !  I  love  Thy  arrows,  0  God,  even  when  they  occasion 
only  pain  and  smarting.  They  come  from  the  bow  of  love 
si  ml  aim  only  at  love.  0  God,  Thou  knowest  that  I  love 
Thee,  and  should  there  be  anything  in  my  heart  that  does 
not  love  Thee,  tear  it  out !  My  heart  shall  be  Thine  for- 
ever !  0  my  God  !  keep  it,  and  never  return  it  unto  me." 

True    progress,  when  viewed  from  the  stand-point   of 

1  Kolb,  pp.  16,  37,  53. 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  135 

eternity,  consists  solely  in  an  increase  of  love  ;  and  this 
being  the  case,  it  would  certainly  be  desirable  that  the 
bawlers  after  progress,  in  these  our  days,  should  go  to  the 
poor,  despised  nun,  to  learn  of  her  the  only  right  road  to 
progress,  namely,  a  holy  love  thirsting  after  God.  And 
since  the  true  happiness  of  the  human  heart  is  only  to  be 
found  in  a  well-regulated  and  everlasting  love,  how  pitiable 
must  be  the  numerous  spoiled  men  and  women,  true  chil- 
dren of  this  world,  educated  according  to  the  exterior  train- 
ing of  the  age,  but  whose  hearts  know  nothing  of  the 
source  and  proper  object  of  all  love.  Would  that  such  as 
these  maturely  reflected  on  the  undeniably  beautiful  words 
of  Crescentia  :  "  People  deceive  themselves  very  much  if 
they  imagine  that  the  real  pleasure  of  a  soul  consists  in 
exterior  things,  or  in  fleshly  joys,  or  in  the  absence  of  every 
cross.  No,  no  !  it  consists  in  the  spirit  alone,  and  only 
in  this,  that  we  do  and  suffer  everything,  according  to  the 
will  of  our  heavenly  Father."  1  0  faithful  reader,  look  into 
your  own  heart :  it  will  never  come  to  true  rest,  until  it 
rests  in  God  by  love.  Look  up  to  the  cross  ;  thus  it  speaks 
to  you  :  "  Christ  died  for  all,  that  they  also  who  live,  may 
not  now  live  to  themselves,  but  unto  Him  who  died  for 
them  and  rose  again."  a 


CHAPTER  IV. 
The  Blessed  Sacrament,  her  Heaven  on  Earth. 

HE  divine  will  and  the  Blessed  Sacrament  are 
my  Heaven  on  earth."  It  was  thus  that  the  Ven. 
Crescentia  once  expressed  herself,  and  this  was 
the  perfect  truth.  Her  faithful  and  loving  heart  had  dis- 
covered the  gate  which  alone,  in  this  valley  of  tears  and 

1  Gabriel,  p.  W.  •  II.  Cor.  v.  i:>. 


136        The  Life  of  Ven,  Mary  Crescentia. 

sins,  forms  the  entrance  to  that  better  Paradise  which  we 
have  lost  in  Adam.  Her  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
the  miracle  of  miracles,  was  in  itself  to  be  considered 
miraculous,  and  is  consequently  well  fitted  to  explain  the 
really  prodigious  occurrences  to  be  related  in  this  chapter, 
and  which  would  otherwise  be  scarcely  credible.  Itev. 
Januarius  Mayr,  S.  J.,  her  confessor,  in  the  report  dictated 
by  him  on  his  death-bed,  makes  the  same  remark  con- 
cerning the  virtues  of  this  godly  virgin,  and  adds  to  this, 
that  even  a  very  superficial  observation  must  convince 
those  around  her  that  she  must  possess  a  very  extraor- 
dinary devotion  to  the  great  mystery  of  divine  love.  To 
prove  it,  he  adduces  two  exterior  signs,  as  reasons  :  First, 
that  whenever  the  weakness  of  her  sick  body  permitted 
her  to  do  so,  she  dragged  herself  to  the  oratory,  in  order 
to  adore  the  Saviour  in  the  Blessed  Eucharist,  and  that  in 
all  her  leisure  time,  she  would  spend,  not  hours  alone,  but 
half-days  before  the  Tabernacle. 

"We  may  here  add  from  other  witnesses,  that  when  she 
could  not  walk,  she  had  herself  led,  or  sometimes  even 
carried  thither  by  other  Sisters,  and  that  there  she  knelt 
for  hours  like  an  angel,  never  raising  her  eyes  ;  that  no 
noise,  however  sudden  and  startling  it  might  be,  could  for 
an  instant  divert  her  attention  from  the  object  of  her 
veneration  and  love  ;  that,  moreover,  the  change  of  her  col- 
or, the  sighs  of  ardent  love  she  uttered  unconsciously,  the 
seraphic  expression  of  her  countenance  betrayed  the  in- 
terior fervor  which  consumed  her  heart.  There,  before  the 
Tabernacle,  she  became,  as  it  were,  transfigured  ;  there  all 
sufferings,  even  the  sorrow  of  exile  from  the  vision  of  the 
Supreme  Good,  were  forgotten  ;  there  she  drank  in  full 
draughts  of  the  living  water  promised  by  our  Saviour,  and 
from  this  Jacob's  well  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  she  drew 
light  and  hope,  consolation  and  joy,  nay,  even  bodily 
strength.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sense  of  exile  stole  over 
her  as  soon  as  absent  in  body  from  this,  her  "  Heaven  on 
earth/' 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  \  5  7 

Her  Sisters  in  religion  sometimes  endeavored,  from  a 
compassionate  feeling,  to  induce  her  to  spare  her  sickly 
body,  and  not  remain  so  long  in  the  Church  during  the 
severe  cold  weather.  But  she  would  not  let  this  hinder 
her,  and  answered:1.  "What  do  you  mean  ?  where  will 
you  find  more  strength  and  heat  than  in  the  Church  ?" 

When  the  Blessed  Sacrament  was  exposed  for  adoration, 
she  remained  kneeling  before  it  all  the  time  ;  obedience 
alone  could  then  withdraw  her  from  the  Church.  The 
Octave  of  Corpus  Christi  was  a  real  jubilee  for  her.  For 
the  whole  eight  days  she  scarcely  stirred  from  the  oratory. 
Her  devotion  burst  forth  in  higher  flames  at  the  thought, 
that  throughout  the  Universal  Church  so  many  prayers  went 
up,  and  so  much  honor  was  paid  to  our  Lord  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  During  these  days,  her  soul  seemed  to  be  in 
an  ecstasy  of  delight  and  rapture.  In  a  similar  manner, 
she  every  Thursday  celebrated  the  great  mystery  of  love, 
and  took  pleasure  on  that  day  in  thus  expressing  the  feel- 
ings of  her  heart :  "0  Thursday,  0  wonderful  day,  0 
sweet  day,  on  which  God  gave  Himself  to  us  as  food  ! " 

When  she  passed  the  Church,  she  always  knelt  down  and 
devoutly  adored  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Whenever  she 
heard  of  an  accident,  or  when  she  was  asked  for  advice  in 
any  difficulty,  she  went  before  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
there  to  ask  for  light  and  help.  When  she  was  compelled 
to  leave  the  Church,  it  was  easily  seen  what  force  she  had 
to  use  to  compel  herself  to  quit  this  "  gate  of  Heaven." 
Although,  in  point  of  fact,  it  was  only  her  body  that  left 
the  holy  place,  her  heart  still  remained  before  the  eyes  of 
the  Lord.  Besides  this,  on  such  occasions  she  constantly 
invoked  one  of  her  holy  patrons,  praying  him  to  take  her 
place  and  to  praise  and  love  the  Saviour  for  her.  When 
outside  the  Church,  her  eyes,  when  it  was  possible,  turned 
towards  the  direction  in  which  the  Church  was  situated. 

Father  Mayr,  S.  J.,  adduces  as  the  second  exterior  sign 
of  her  love  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  the  great  care  she 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  0.  5. 


138        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

took  of  everything  that  had  reference  to  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment in  the  Church,  the  reverence  with  which  she  handled 
everything  about  it.  She  decorated  the  Tabernacle  and  the 
altars  as  magnificently  as  it  was  possible,  and  wanted  lo  have 
the  chalice,  ciborium,  or  whatever  else  was  used,  as  beautiful 
and  costly  as  they  could  be  made.  She  said  that  no  ex- 
pense ought  to  be  spared  in  order  that  the  Divine  Majesty 
might  not  be  altogether  unbecomingly  served.  The  presents 
which,  at  a  later  date,  were  often  made  to  her,  she  handed 
over  immediately  to  the  Superioress,  with  the  request  that 
they  should  be  used  in  ornamenting  the  Church.  Nearly 
all  the  precious  articles  which  the  convent  Church  (which 
had  been  very  poor  in  the  beginning)  afterwards  possessed 
in  abundance,  came  from  her.  There  was  no  work  she 
liked  better  than  to  clean  and  decorate  the  Church,  and  to 
make  or  repair  articles  used  at  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass.  She  spared  no  pains  to  make  it  thoroughly  clean 
and  neat. 

Often  and  willingly  she  spoke  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
and  did  this  with  so  much  light  and  warmth  that,  as  Sister 
M.  Raphael  Miller  testifies,1  her  conversations  on  that  sub- 
ject far  surpassed  in  intensity  anything  we  hear  in  the 
common  run  of  sermons,  or  read  about  in  books.  Not 
seldom,  however,  she  was  suddenly  struck  dumb  ;  then  she 
remained  standing  motionless,  and  the  ecstatic  expression 
of  her  face  spoke  more  forcibly  than  the  most  eloquent 
words  could  do. 

Above  all,  she  endeavored  to  impress  devotion  to  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  on  her  pupils,  teaching  them  to  visit 
it  as  often  as  possible,  frequently  to  make  a  spiritual  com- 
munion, and  in  every  need  to  seek  counsel,  consolation, 
and  help  from  the  Redeemer.  Even  when  they  were  at 
work,  she  taught  them  to  direct  their  heart  and  soul  to  the 
Blessed  Tabernacle,  and  frequently  to  salute  our  Lord  with 
the  well-known  greeting  :  "  Praise  and  honored  be  the 
Holy  Sacrament  of  the  altar  !"  When  she  was  Mother 

»  N.  12,  s  rr». 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  139 

Superior,  she  introduced  the  pious  custom  among  the  Sisters 
of  repeating,  as  they  passed  the  Church,  the  angelic  song  of 
praise  :  "  Sanclus,  sanctus,  sane 't us,  Dominus  Deus  Saba- 
otli,"  "Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  Hosts."  As  she 
observed  the  greatest  reverence  in  the  Church,  she  required 
her  subjects  to  do  the  like.  It  can  hardly  astonish  us  that 
the  Eedeemer  should  reward  so  extraordinary  a  devotion  in 
a  striking  manner  ;  we  relate  two  instances  out  of  many, 
given  by  Father  Ott  : l 

Crescentia  had  been  the  whole  day  hard  at  work,  which 
she  had  carried  on,  however,  while  maintaining  an  uninter- 
rupted union  with  her  Saviour  by  prayer.  She  was  tired 
out,  but  in  spite  of  this,  she,  according  to  her  habit,  paid 
a  visit  to  the  Blessed  Sacrament  before  she  retired  to  rest, 
offering  up  her  day's  work  and  sinking  her  bodily  weakness 
within  the  Sacred  Heart;  she  then  heard  the  following  words 
proceed  distinctly  from  the  Tabernacle  :  "  How  beautiful 

are  thy  steps 0  prince's  daughter  !" 2     At  another 

time  she  was  obliged,  in  attending  to  her  work,  frequently  to 
pass  by  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  without  being  able  to  tarry. 
She  could  only,  as  she  passed,  frequently  direct  this  ejacula- 
tion to  her  Redeemer  :  "  My  God,  for  love  of  Thee,  and  in 
obedience ! "  When  she  passed  the  altar  for  the  last  time,  she 
noticed  several  flames  hovering  above  it;  she  was  confounded, 
and  asked  the  Lord  what  it  meant.  The  Lord  answered : 
"'  These  are  the  aspirations  of  love  you  sent  up  to  Me  when 
passing." 

As  the  love  of  the  Redeemer,  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
manifests  itself  in  the  highest  degree,  not  alone  by  gifts, 
but  by  giving  Himself  as  food  to  the  soul,  that  the  soul 
"may  abide  in  Him,  and  He  in  her,"3  Holy  Communion 
was  for  this  angelical  soul  peculiarly  "  Heaven  on  earth." 
"  0  miracle  of  miracles!  "  she  exclaimed,  "Love — God  is 
Love — has  given  Himself  to  me,  poor  creature  as  I  am,  for 
food,  and  left  Himself  to  me  in  His  last  will  and  testament  ! 
0  banquet  sweet  to  the  soul,  how  I  hunger  and  thirst  after 

1  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  3.  *  Canticle  vil.  1.  3  John  rt.  57. 


140        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Thee  I  But  because  it  is  not  permitted  me  to  receive  Thee 
as  often  as  I  desire  in  Holy  Communion,  I  will  bear  the 
deprivation  in  patient  silence  and  with  the  resignation  I 
ought  to  feel,  but  I  will  prepare  myself  every  day,  that  my 
Lord  may  find  me  always  ready."  On  another  occasion  she 
said  :  "  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would  not  be  possible  for  me 
to  refrain  from  Holy  Communion,  from  the  motive  of  hu- 
mility, although  I  justly  consider  myself  as  the  greatest  of 
sinners,  and  truly  unworthy  of  this  grace.  From  obedi- 
ence I  do  thus  refrain,  because  the  desire  to  do  the  will  of 
God  outweighs  all  other  desires;  I  therefore  do  it  with- 
out fail,  when  I  am  required  to  do  so  by  obedience  to  my 
superiors  and  confessors." 

Every  one  who  saw  her  approach  Holy  Communion 
was  not  only  edified,  but  altogether  amazed ;  among 
many  others  who  bear  witness  to  this,  Alderman  John 
Peter  Kollman  says  : '  "I  have  seen  her  at  Holy  Commun- 
ion hundreds  of  times,  and  always  with  new  amazement ; 
it  was  like  seeing  an  angel,  and  not  a  mortal  being,  com- 
municate." "  Her  face,"  Sister  Gabriel  says,  "then  be- 
came as  beautiful  as  that  of  an  angel,  and  she  frequently  dif- 
fused around  her  a  fragrance  of  heavenly  sweetness,  that  I 
have  myself  often  perceived."  Sister  Raphael  Miller  gives 
a  still  closer  description  :  "  Her  desire  for  Holy  Commun- 
ion was  so  intense,  that  as  the  appointed  time  drew  near 
for  her  to  receive,  every  delay  appeared  to  her  intolerable. 
Her  hunger  for  this  divine  food  reached  such  a  height  that 
she  frequently  appeared  nearly  dying.  Before  Holy  Com- 
munion she  was  frequently  so  weak  and  frail  looking, 
that  she  could  scarcely  walk  or  speak  ;  it  was  necessary  to 
support  her  on  both  sides  in  order  to  lead  her  into  the 
Church  and  to  Holy  Communion.  After  receiving,  she 
acquired  new  strength,  and  I  frequently  perceived  on  these 
occasions  an  exquisite  fragrance  emanating  from  her. 
Her  thanksgiving  lasted  as  long  as  the  duties  of  her  office 
or  obedience  permitted,  generally  several  hours.  During 

'  Suniin.  X.  9,  «  46a. 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  141 

that  time  she  seemed  beyond  herself,  and  remained,  immov- 
able as  a  statue,  on  her  knees.  Her  countenance  appeared 
sometimes  pale  and  white  as  wax,  sometimes  inflamed 
with  a  glowing  redness  like  a  rose,  but  so  lovely,  so  mar- 
vellously beautiful,  that  whoever  witnessed  it  was  moved  to 
devotion  and  love.  All  this  I  have  myself  seen,  heard, 
and  experienced." 

As  she  not  seldom  fainted  on  the  morning  of  Holy  Com- 
munion, her  confessors,  especially  Father  Pamer,  were  of 
opinion  that  her  unspeakable  desire  for  this  heavenly 
food  was  the  cause  of  it.  Perhaps  her  own  words  confirm 
this  ;  she  said  :  "For  one  comrmmion  I  would  gladly  suf- 
fer all  the  sicknesses  of  all  mankind  ;  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  possession  and  vision  of  God,  I  would  rather 
forego  the  enjoyment  of  the  pleasures  of  Heaven,  than  miss 
one  Holy  Communion." 

We  have  ah'eady  indicated  with  what  care  she  prepared 
herself  for  Holy  Communion ;  we  meet  particulars  of  this 
in  the  communications  of  Sister  Gabriel:1  "Her  whole 
life  was  spent  in  constant  preparation  for  Holy  Commun- 
ion, and  in  thanksgiving  for  it.  Everything  she  did  was 
directed  to  that  end  by  holy  intentions.  She  commenced 
her  preparation  at  midnight,  or,  at  latest,  at  two  o'clock,  by 
multifarious  acts  of  virtue.  After  this,  she  occupied  her- 
self with  the  mysteries  of  the  passion  of  Christ,  from  the 
institution  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  till  the  Sacrifice  upon 
the  Cross,  the  commemoration  of  which  is  celebrated  in 
the  Holy  Eucharist.  She  presented  the  bitter  sufferings 
of  the  Redeemer  witli  great  interior  recollection  to  the 
heavenly  Father,  clothing  herself,  as  it  were,  in  the  merits 
of  Christ,  in  order  to  be  worthy  to  receive  Him.  After 
Holy  Communion  she  first  greeted  her  heavenly  Bridegroom 
with  ejaculations  of  ardent  affection,  such  as  :  '  My  heart 
and  my  body  rejoice  in  the  living  God;'  or,  '  Whence  proceeds 
this  happiness,  that  the  Son  of  my  beloved  Mother  comes 
to  me  ? '  After  which  she  would  say  the  Magnificat,  add- 

1  Gabriel,  p.  14~, 


142        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ing  appropriate  explanations  ;  but  she  seldom  got  farther 
than  the  words  :  '  because  He  hath  done  great  things  to  vie.' ' 
The  reason  for  this  she  did  not  give,  but  it  lies  in  the  fact 
that  her  soul  was  by  that  time  carried  away  by  the  pleni- 
tude of  light  and  love,  that  it  entered  into  God  and  rested 
in  Him  without  any  further  voluntary  act." 

A  remarkable  occurrence  related  by  many  witnesses 
shows  to  what  a  degree  her  eagerness  for  Holy  Commun- 
ion had  attained.  Sister  M.  Helena  Kurz  tells  it  as  follows:* 
"  When  we  approached  Holy  Communion  on  the  day  af- 
ter Christmas  in  the  year  1742,  in  the  usual  order,  Crescen- 
tia's  longing  for  Holy  Communion  revealed  itself  by  a  sin- 
gular incident.  Although,  as  Mother  Superior,  it  was,  ac- 
cording to  our  custom,  her  place  to  come  last  to  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  this  time  she  came  as  if  flying  after  the  two 
youngest  Sisters  who  came  there  the  first ;  of  these  I  was 
one,  the  other  was  Sister  M.  Raphael  Miller — and  she  has- 
tened to  the  communion-railing.  By  the  construction  of 
the  place  she  could  not  avoid  meeting  us,  yet  we  neither  of 
us  noticed  her,  nor  did  the  other  Sisters,  until  they  saw 
her  suddenly  at  the  communion-railing.  The  space  is  so 
limited  that  only  two  Sisters  can  kneel  there  side  by  side, 
yet  no  disturbance  took  place  among  the  communicants, 
which  surprised  every  one,  when  it  was  seen  that  Crescentia 
was  kneeling  at  the  railing.  At  the  dinner-table  some  of 
the  Sisters  asked  her  why  she  had  broken  through  the 
custom  and  preceded  the  Sisters  at  Communion  ?  She 
blushed  and  answered  humbly  :  '  Did  I  go  too  soon  ?  I  do 
not  know  myself  what  I  did.  How  stupid  of  me  to 
make  a  disturbance  everywhere.  Dear  Sisters,  if  I  was 
in  any  one's  way,  or  disturbed  the  usual  order,  I  pray  you, 
pardon  me.'*  With  these  humble  words  she  sought  to  ex- 
plain the  occurrence,  as  if  it  had  been  occasioned  by  her 
awkwardness,  but  any  one  who  examines  the  space  in  which 
it  happened,  which  remains  to-day  as  it  was  then,  and  con- 
siders well  the  circumstances,  will  scarcely  doubt  that  in  this 

1  Ott,  p.  103.  »  Sumni.  N.  0,  9  340. 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  143 

we  have  an  example  of  ecstatic  flight,  of  which  Gorres 
enumerates  many  cases.1 

But  we  have  to  relate  a  still  more  marvellous  incident 
which  was  successfully  maintained  by  the  defenders  of  her 
beatification,  in  spite  of  the  sharp  opposition  made  by  the 
Promoter fidei*  It  is  said  that  011  those  days  when  the  Sis- 
ters did  not  communicate  in  common,  Crescentia  for  two 
years  received  the  Blessed  Sacrament  from  the  hands  of  an 
angel.  Such  a  wonderful  mode  of  Holy  Communion  is 
also  related  in  some  few  cases  of  Saints,  as  of  St.  Bonaven- 
ture,  of  the  Blessed  Clare  of  Montefalco,  of  St.  Catherine 
of  Sienna,  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene  of  Pazzi,  and  some 
others.  But  such  a  frequent  repetition  of  the  favor  as  was 
the  case  here,  is  perhaps  unknown.  Naturally  these  facts 
rest  on  her  own  testimony  alone,  but  it  is  certain  that  she 
told  them  to  her  confessor,  Eev.  Ignatius  Lieb,  S.  J.,  to 
her  Superioress,  Mother  M.  Johanna,  as  also  to  Sister  M. 
Justina.  Some  exterior  circumstances  have  also  concurred 
in  corroborating  her  own  testimony.  According  to  vari- 
ous reports  of  this  most  extraordinary  event,  it  happened 
as  follows : 

Her  desire  to  communicate  every  day  had  reached  an 
incredible  height,  yet  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that 
the  Superiors  would  make  an  exception  in  her  favor  in 
regard  to  the  usual  number  of  communion-days  permit- 
ted to  the  Sisters.  In  the  year  1721,  on  the  feast  of  her  pa- 
tron Saint  Crescentia,  July  15,  the  desire  for  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  increased  during  Mass  to  an  intolerable  height. 
Whilst  the  priest  was  saying  the  "  Domine  non  sum  dig- 
nus,"  "  Lord,  I  am  not  worthy,"  the  spouse  of  Christ  saw 
a  procession  of  angels  coming  from  the  altar  to  her. 
One  of  them,  a  seraph,  carried  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and 
gave  it  to  her  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Church.  This  was 
repeated  for  two  years,  on  every  day  when  the  usual  Com- 

1  GSrres :  Mystik :  B.  II.  p.  511—553. 

2  Summ.  N.  9,  §  25.— Act.  B.  Summ.  Object.  N.  12,  and  Eesp.  N.  144-150.  Also  Ott, 
B.  II.  p.  95,  seq. 


144        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

muni  on  did  not  take  place  in  common,  until  October  27, 
1723. 

When  she  told  this  remarkable  case  to  her  confessor, 
Father  Ignatius  Lieb,  he  became  troubled  and  doubtful. 
But  he  expressed  himself  to  the  effect,  that  she  ought 
to  receive  such  a  grace  with  great  humility  and  gratitude, 
resolving  in  his  heart,  the  while,  to  scrutinize  this  most 
extraordinary  case  severely.  At  once  he  had  recourse  to 
God  in  holy  prayer,  in  order  to  acquire  light  from  above  in 
such  a  difficult  matter.  Without  speaking  of  it  to  any 
one,  he  besought  God  not  to  permit  her  Holy  Communion 
through  angelic  ministration  for  the  next  three  days, 
while  interiorly  he  forbade  it  to  his  penitent.  He  used 
to  say  Mass  in  the  Sisters'  Chapel  and  it  had  been  at 
this  holy  Mass  of  her  confessor  that  the  miraculous  com- 
munion had  taken  place,  according  to  the  information  giv- 
en by  Crescentia. 

At  the  third  day  he  asked  the  servant  of  God  how  she 
was.  She  replied:  "  I  cannot  be  easy;  for  three  days  I  have 
not  received  Holy  Communion  and  I  fear  that  I  have  com- 
mitted some  sin."  He  dismissed  her  with  some  common- 
place words.  Then  he  prayed  God  to  grant  her  this  grace 
again,  if  indeed  it  proceeded  from  Him.  On  the  day  after, 
the  virgin  told  him  that  the  holy  angels  had  again  com- 
municated to  her  the  Bread  of  Heaven.  Her  confessor 
said  nothing  in  reply,  but  afterwards  he  spoke  to  the 
Mother  Superior  of  the  affair,  and  said  that  he  no  lon- 
ger doubted  its  truth.  He  was  soon  to  be  yet  more 
strengthened  in  this  opinion,  as  we  shall  relate  immedi- 
ately. The  true  spirit  of  the  Ven.  Crescentia  was  shown 
also  in  this  :  that  these  rare  graces  were  not  pleasing  to 
her  soul,  on  the  contrary,  she  mistrusted  anything  out  of 
the  usual  course  of  things.  Holy  Communion  from  the 
hand  of  the  priest  seemed  to  her  to  convey  more  certainty 
and  merit,  inasmuch  as  faith  and  humility  were  more  ex- 
orcised thereby.  She  ceased  not  to  pray  earnestly  to  God 
that  He  would  permit  her  daily  to  receive  the  Blessed 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  145 

Sacrament  in  the  usual  manner.  This  favor  seemed  the 
more  difficult  to  obtain,  as,  in  her  great  humility,  she  es- 
teemed herself  unworthy  of  consideration  and  could  not 
venture  to  ask  for  so  striking  an  exception  to  the  usual 
order.  Divine  Providence,  however,  so  ordered  it  that 
her  desires  were  granted  without  a  petition  being  pre- 
sented by  herself  on  the  subject.  She  became  seriously  ill 
from  excess  of  love  ;  an  inexplicable  heat  parched  the  very 
blood  in  her  veins ;  no  remedy  had  any  effect ;  she  was 
nearly  dying.  At  this  emergency  a  thought  struck  her 
father  confessor,  who  had  already  directed  her  for  four 
years,  and  at  the  same  time  the  same  thought  came  to 
Mother  Johanna,  that  the  best  remedy  would  be  for  the 
priest  to  give  her  Holy  Communion  every  day.  When  they 
had  communicated  this  thought  to  each  other,  they  resolved 
to  consult  the  Father  Provincial  on  the  subject.  Father 
Sebastian  Hoss,  who  then  filled  that  office,  had  himself, 
as  we  have  already  related,  received  indubitable  proofs 
that  God  was  conducting  Crescentia  by  extraordinary 
ways ;  and  God  having  thus  disposed  it,  he  gave  his  con- 
sent at  once.  The  joy  and  gratitude  of  the  servant  of 
God  was  beyond  all  conception.  The  27th  of  October, 
1723,  she  made  use  of  this  privilege  for  the  first  time.  To 
this  permission  the  condition  was  at  first  annexed  that  she 
should  not  receive  publicly,  but  only  in  the  presence  of  her 
fellow-Sisters.  Later  on  this  restriction  was  removed.  The 
expected  effect  of  this  grace  was  justified  in  the  event.  She 
recovered  her  health  immediately,  without  other  remedy. 
This  same  father  confessor,  a  short  time  afterwards, 
thought  it  right  to  test  once  more  the  spirit  and  obedience 
of  his  penitent.  One  day  he  forbade  her  Holy  Communion. 
Silently,  in  all  humility,  she  submitted  to  a  command  so 
hard  to  her.  God  rewarded  her  obedience,  while  He,  at 
the  same  time,  forcibly  bore  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  ex- 
traordinary manner  in  which  she  had  previously  received 
the  Bread  of  Heaven  by  the  hands  of  angels. 
When  her  confessor,  on  the  same  morning  on  which  he 


146        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

had  denied  her  Holy  Communion,  was  at  Ma».  and  about 
to  receive  the  Body  of  the  Lord,  he  perceived,  to  his  great 
alarm,  that  only  one-half  of  the  host  previously  broken 
was  on  the  paten.  He  searched  most  carefully  for  the 
other  part,  but  in  vain  ;  finally,  he  had  to  continue  and 
conclude  the  holy  Mass.  When  the  doors  of  the  Church 
had  been  locked,  he  recommenced  his  search ;  he  examim-d 
the  whole  altar  carefully,  but  could  find  no  trace  of  the 
missing  particle.  Altogether  confounded  and  dejected,  he 
mentioned  the  occurrence,  which  was  most  inexplicable  to 
him,  to  the  Superioress,  and  both  together  concluded  to 
ask  Crescentia  about  it.  She  replied  in  confusion  : 
"My  angel  guardian  communicated  me  with  the  other 
half  of  the  Sacred  Host."  From  that  time  no  confessor 
ever  again  withheld  Holy  Communion  from  her,  al- 
though she  presented  herself,  time  and  again,  for  the  ac- 
ceptance of  this  to  her  most  difficult  act  of  obedience. 
Thus,  she  received  daily,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  until 
her  happy  death. 

Even  before  the  year  1721  she  had  received  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  in  a  manner  equally  wonderful. '  Father  Ott  * 
calls  this  case  a  forerunner  of  the  grace  so  often  subse- 
quently repeated.  In  order  to  carry  out  the  directions 
given  by  the  Father  Provincial  to  test  the  servant  of  God 
most  strictly,  Mother  Johanna,  the  Superioress,  commanded 
her  to  go  into  the  kitchen  instead  of  into  the  Church, 
on  a  day  of  general  communion.  Humbly  obeying,  she 
still  remained  interiorly  absorbed  in  devotion,  while  she 
performed  her  work.  God  rewarded  her  by  having  the 
food  of  angels  served  up  to  her  by  angels'  hands,  in  the 
very  spot  where  obedience  had  placed  her. 

The  ways  of  grace  enumerated  above  belong,  in  fact, 
to  the  rarest  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge  ;  but  since 
God  never  lets  Himself  be  surpassed  in  generosity  by  any 
creature,  and  since  Crescentia  possessed  the  grace  to  give 
herself  to  God  without  reserve,  and  with  the  greatest  fidelity 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  12.  •  Ott,  B.  II.  p.  208. 


Her  Heaven  on  Earth.  147 

and  perseverance,  it  becomes  in  some  slight  degree  intelli- 
gible why  the  most  generous  King  extended  more  and 
more  the  miracles  of  His  power  and  love,  as  contained  in 
this  Holy  Sacrament,  to  so  holy  a  soul.  In  regard  to  the 
effects  produced  by  Holy  Communion  in  her  soul,  we  can 
only  point  to  them,  not  describe  them.  All  the  brilliant 
promises  which  the  Saviour  has  attached  to  this  Holy  Sacra- 
ment '  were  fulfilled  in  her,  particularly  the  promise  : 

"  He    that  eateth  My  flesh abideth  in  Me,  and  I 

in  him."  This  heavenly  food  tested  in  her  person  its 
transforming  power  of  changing  the  receiver  into  the  liv- 
ing Bread,  into  Christ,  inasmuch  as  she  could  say:  "I  live 
now,  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me.":  Her  thoughts  and 
wishes,  her  words  and  actions,  her  life,  love,  and  suffering, 
all  moved  round  one  central  point,  Christ,  who,  as  Lord 
and  King,  alone  occupied  the  throne  of  her  heart.  She 
herself  could  find  no  words  in  which  to  explain  to  her 
confessor  the  effect  produced  in  her  by  Holy  Communion. 
She  could  only  say  that  she  beheld  the  humanity  of 
Christ  in  an  ineffable  light,  and  that  in  the  highest  of  all 
mysteries,  that  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,  she  understood  how 
the  Son  from  all  eternity  is  begotten  of  the  Father,  and 
how  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  both.3 

The  ecstasies  already  mentioned,  and  which  nearly 
always  came  to  her  after  Holy  Communion,  as  well  as  the 
remarkable  bodily  strength  which  she  always  received 
therefrom,  bear  evident  witness  to  the  richest  streams  of 
grace  which  flowed  from  the  Blessed  Sacrament  into  her 
soul.  Even  the  extraordinary  effect,  that  Holy  Communion 
often  for  a  long  time  took  the  place  of  all  bodily  food,  is 
undeniable.  During  the  last  six  weeks  of  her  life  it  was  her 
only  nourishment,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter.  During  her 
severe  illness  in  the  year  1742,  which  lasted  six  months, 
she  took  scarcely  anything  else  than  this  celestial  food,  so 
that  every  one  thought  it  could  not  be  by  a  natural  way 
that  her  life  was  sustained  ;  the  quantity  of  bodily  nourish- 

1  Compare  John  vi.  *  Gal.  II.  £0.  »  Ott,  B.  I. 


148         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ment  she  took  was  too  small  for  that.1  Instances  of  this 
kind,  concerning  the  effects  of  the  Holy  Eucharist  on  the 
bodily  frame,  are  numerous  in  the  lives  of  the  Saints  ;  not 
a  little  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  Mystic  of  Gorres.* 

In  union  with  devotion  to  the  Holy  Sacrament  of  the 
altar,  she,  from  infancy  upwards,  practised  with  great  pre- 
dilection and  affection  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart 
of  Jesus,  so  closely  allied  to  the  other,  and  which  in  these 
later  centuries  has  been  spread  in  such  an  extraordinary 
manner  over  the  whole  Church.  She  could  not  tire  of 
meditating  on  the  love  and  mercy  of  the  Heart  of  the  Man- 
God,  of  praising  it,  of  loving  it ;  she  lived,  as  she  herself 
expressed  it,  more  in  this  Heart  than  in  her  own.  The 
words  which  she,  when  a  child,  had  heard  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  the  vision  we  related  before  :  "  Thy 
heart  and  My  Heart  shall  be  but  one  Heart/'  were  most 
deeply  impressed  upon  her.  Other  visions  and  other  words 
addressed  to  her,  which  had  reference  to  the  same  object, 
came  at  a  later  date,  and  enkindled  in  her  a  still  greater 
love  for  the  Most  Sacred  Heart  of  the  Redeemer.  We  give 
some  of  these,  culled  from  Father  Ott :  * 

Once,  when  she  was  kneeling  before  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment, immersing  her  own  heart  with  great  fervor  in  the 
Sacred  Heart  of  her  Divine  Redeemer,  as  she  often  used  to 
do,  it  appeared  to  her  as  if  many  brilliantly  shining  rays 
came  from  the  Tabernacle  and  penetrated  her  heart ;  at  the 
same  time  she  seemed  to  hear  these  words  :  "  These  are 
the  marks  of  My  love  towards  you,  with  which  I  will  inflame 
*  your  heart  and  unite  it  to  Mine."  This  grace  gave  her 
courage  to  ask  for  a  still  greater  favor,  namely,  that  God 
would  give  her  His  own  Heart,  so  that  she  might  thus  be 
enabled  to  love  Him  worthily.  This  petition  was  granted 
her,  later,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  In  a 
sublime  vision  the  Saviour  appeared  to  her,  and  gave  her 
His  Most  Sacred  Heart,  not,  indeed,  in  the  ordinary  way, 
as  He  gives  it  to  all  pious  Christians  at  Holy  Communion, 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Add.  p.  14.  *  B.  HI.  p.  370.  »  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  2. 


Pier  Heaven  on  Earth.  149 

but  in  a  peculiar  mystic  union,  so  that  she  possessed  a 
special  title  and  grant  of  donation  to  this  exalted  treasure. 
Carried  away  by  surprise  and  love,  she,  on  her  part, 
gave  her  own  heart  to  her  heavenly  Spouse  without  the 
least  restriction,  praying  that  He  would  make  it  wholly 
His  own,  subject  it  entirely  to  His  royal  sway,  make  it  ready 
to  do  His  holy  will,  equally  in  pain  as  in  pleasure,  in  life 
as  in  death.  The  effect  of  this  vision  was  inexpressible  ;  it 
appeared  as  if  from  this  happy  exchange  of  hearts  a  fresh 
start  had  been  made  for  anew  life,  a  more  perfect  one,  one 
more  carefully  modelled  after  the  virtues  of  the  Divine  Heart. 

Once,  in  an  unusually  great  interior  abandonment  for 
many  days  and  nights,  she  sighed  with  the  desire,  and  in 
the  words  of  the  Spouse  in  the  Canticle  of  Canticles,  after 
the  presence  of  her  only  Love.  The  Saviour  then  appeared 
to  her,  brilliant  in  the  glory  of  inaccessible  light ;  His 
Heart  was  open  and  pierced  with  many  arrows.  When 
the  spouse  of  the  Crucified  compassionately  asked  :  "  My 
Lord,  who  has  wounded  Thee  thus  ? "  He  answered  with 
a  benign  countenance  :  "  My  child,  it  is  thou  who  hast 
wounded  My  heart  with  the  sighs  of  love  thou  art  con- 
tinually sending  up  to  Me  ;  they  are  so  many  arrows  of 
love.  I  am  well  pleased  with  it.  Thy  joy  shall  increase 
by  suffering  and  love."  These  words  proved  their  divine 
origin  by  producing  in  her  soul  the  effect  they  described  ; 
that  is,  an  insatiable  desire  for  greater  sufferings,  and  for 
illimitable  love. 

Dear  Christians,  Jesus  Christ  has  taken  His  abode 
among  men  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament  for  your  benefit 
also,  and  for  you  also  was  the  word  spoken  :  "  He  that 
eateth  this  Bread  shall  live  forever. "  l  For  you,  too,  the 
sanctuary  lamp  is  lit,  to  show  you  the  Tabernacle  where 
there  is  Heaven  on  earth.  Then  turn  no  longer  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  sweet  invitation  of  the  Lord  :  "  Come  to  Me, 
all  you  that  labor,  and  are  burdened,  and  I  will  refresh 
you."' 

»  John  vl.  59.  3  Matth.  xi.  28. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ,  the  Subject  of 
Crescentia's  Constant  Meditation.  ' 

|0  wish  to  know  nothing  save  Jesus  Christ  and 
Him  crucified,  with  Him  to  live  in  the  most  in- 
timate spiritual  union,  with  Him  to  suffer,  die, 
and  rise  again,  is,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Apos- 
tle St.  Paul,  the  interior,  the  true  life  of  a  Christian ;  it 
forms  the  quintessence  of  the  lives  of  all  the  Saints,  and  is 
also  the  spirit  of  Yen.  M.  Crescentia.  We  must  say  that 
she  lived  wholly  in  Christ  and  that  Christ  lived  in  her. 
From  the  very  first  years  of  her  life,  her  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings, her  hopes  and  affections,  attracted  by  extraordinary 
grace,  turned  to  the  Man-God,  and  this  germ  of  interior 
life  grew  up  to  such  an  extent  and  in  such  strength,  that 
all  the  faculties  of  her  soul  took  fast  hold  in  this  direction 
alone — she  knew  but  Christ,  and  Him  crucified.  Lovingly 
to  meditate  on  Him,  her  Spouse,  in  all  His  mysteries 
and  to  love  so  to  meditate,  was  the  only  business  she 
had  at  heart ;  it  was  her  life,  her  Heaven  on  earth.  Led 
by  the  guiding  hand  of  Holy  Church,  which  every 
year,  so  to  speak,  sets  before  the  eyes  and  hearts  of  her 
children  the  great  work  of  the  world's  redemption,  by 
the  feasts  of  the  ecclesiastical  year,  her  soul  followed,  with 
undivided  sympathy,  the  development  of  this  truly  divine 
drama,  accompanied  every  scene  with  pious  meditations 
and  spiritual  exercises,  or  rather  by  sublime  contemplation 
and  mystical  participation.  She  renewed  in  herself  and 
lived  again  the  life  of  her  Celestial  Head,  of  whom  she  was 
a  living  member.  Jesus  as  a  Child  in  the  manger  ;  as  the 
only  Teacher  of  truth  ;  as  the  Sacrifice  on  the  cross  ;  as 
her  Keward  in  Heaven,  as  her  Spouse  in  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment ;  these  were  the  principal  headings  under  which  she 

1  Suimn.  passim. 


The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ.          i  5  i 

meditated  upon  the  unfathomable  riches  of  His  grace  and 
love;  they  were  the  sources  whence  she  derived,  not  only  an 
infinite  fervor  of  devotion,  but  also  a  plenitude  of  sublime 
acts  of  virtue,  which,  like  to  ring  within  ring,  linked  her 
life  together  till  it  became  a  glorious  imitation  of  the  life 
of  Christ. 

The  holy  season  of  Christmas,  with  its  feasts  before  and 
after,  was  to  her  a  time  of  heavenly  joy  and  love.  Her 
heart  was  indefatigable  in  calling  down  from  Heaven  the 
Divine  Child,  reverently  to  adore  Him,  and  to  receive  Him 
with  inexpressible  delight  and  thanksgiving.  During  the 
whole  of  Advent,  and  for  three  weeks  beforehand,  she  was 
intent  on  duly  preparing  herself  for  the  birth  of  our  Lord. 
Every  moment  of  time  and  every  action  of  the  day  was 
pressed  into  this  service  and  directed  to  the  realization  of 
the  great  mystery  of  the  Incarnation.  With  interior  and 
exterior  virtues  she,  incessantly  occupied  in  its  erection, 
built  a  crib  for  the  Divine  Infant  in  her  heart.  The  long- 
ing sighs  of  the  fathers  of  the  Old  Testament  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  Redeemer  of  the  world  continually  rose  with  like 
fervor  from  her  heart  towards  Heaven,  increasing  in  inten- 
sity as  the  anniversary  of  the  day  of  salvation  drew  near. 
She  had  constantly  before  her  sight  the  Virgin  Mother 
and  the  blessed  Fruit  of  her  womb,  and  vied  with  the  an- 
gels in  adoring  and  loving  the  only-begotten  Son  of  the 
Father,  who,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
became  the  Son  of  a  mortal  Mother.  And  as  the  praise  and 
love  of  the  angels  themselves  seemed  to  her  all  too  little, 
she  turned  towards  the  Immaculate  Mother  with  the  peti- 
tion that  she  would  praise,  love,  and  affectionately  em- 
brace the  Infant  in  her  (Crescentia's)  name. 

Fastings  and  many  other  works  of  pemmce  were  her  daily 
offering  for  the  glory  of  the  Redeemer,  and  in  honor  of 
the  "silent  Word  "she  kept  silence  so  rigidly,  that  she 
scarcely  uttered  a  word,  unless  charity  or  obedience  called 
it  forth.  On  the  holy  Christmas  eve  she  appeared  to  be 
more  in  Heaven  than  on  earth.  We  cannot  follow  the  flight 


1 5  2        77ie  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

of  her  spirit,  rapt  in  joy  and  love,  even  at  a  distance.  Ac- 
cording to  the  accounts  given  by  herself,  the  days  from 
Christmas  to  the  Epiphany  of  our  Lord  were  the  sweetest 
and  loveliest  days  of  the  whole  year.  When  the  word 
"  Bethlehem  "  alone,  uttered  at  any  time  of  the  year,  was 
sufficient  to  raise  her  to  an  ecstasy,  we  may  form  some 
idea  of  the  effect  the  feast-days  themselves  must  have  pro- 
duced. 

Concerning  the  impression  produced  by  that  one  word, 
Sister  Raphael  Miller,  among  many  other  witnesses,  testi- 
fies :  '  "I  noticed  this  impression  in  a  special  way,  when 
I  made  my  profession  at  her  hands.  From  sickness,  Cres- 
centia was  at  that  time  as  pale  as  death,  but  the  '  Babe 
of  Bethlehem '  was  scarcely  mentioned  when  her  face 
grew  red  as  fire  and  she  became  as  if  '  out  of  herself.'* 
During  this  season  she  was  favored  with  many  visions, 
and  with  words  addressed  to  her.  We  will  give  a  few 
of  them  from  the  report  of  Father  Ott: *  As  she  in  Ad- 
vent once  greeted  the  Virgin  Mother  and  her  Divine  In- 
fant with  the  words  familiar  to  her  :  "  Praised  and  blessed 
be  thy  noble  treasure,  0  Mary,  which  tliou  didst  receive 
from  the  Holy  Ghost  !  and  praised  be  the  blessed  Fruit  of 
thy  womb, "  the  Mother  of  God  appeared  to  her  with  the 
Infant,  surrounded  by  the  splendor  of  Heaven  ;  she  pre- 
sented the  Child  to  her,  saying  :  "  This  is  the  blessed 
Fruit  of  my  womb."  The  servant  of  God  felt  her  heart 
penetrated  by  inexpressible  feelings,  as  she  held  the  Divine 
Child  in  her  arms  ;  her  spirit  became  transfigured  from  the 
light  streaming  into  her  and  lost  itself  in  God. 

But  the  deepest  impression  made  upon  her  mind  was 
that  caused  by  the  passion  of  Christ.  She  was  uninterrupt- 
edly occupied  with  it  and  it  was  more  than  a  mere 
meditation  with  her.  Her  whole  interior  being  seemed 
as  if  it  were  drawn  in  and  had  lost  itself  in  the  suffering 
Redeemer ;  she  could  say  with  St.  Paul,  in  a  mystical 


Summ.  N.  12.  «  90.  »  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  4. 


The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ.  1 53 

sense:  "With  Christ  lam  nailed  to  the  cross."1  On 
merely  hearing  the  words  "  Passion  of  Christ,"  she  would 
break  forth  into  tears  and  say,  at  times,  with  a  broken 
voice  :  "Oh!  what  is  that  ?  God  suffering  and  dying!  " " 
When,  on  Thursday  evening,  the  signal  of  the  bell  was 
given  for  the  agony  of  our  Lord,  and  on  Friday  for  that  of 
His  death,  her  color  would  change,  and  tears  flowed  abun- 
dantly from  her  eyes. 

There  was  nothing  which  she  more  earnestly  recom- 
mended than  a  constant  meditation  on  the  sufferings  of 
Christ  ;  in  that,  she  would  say,  "  lies  an  infinite  treasure 
and  the  living  fruit  of  Paradise  :  whoever  eats  of  it,  shall 
never  die.  For  a  religious,  the  holy  cross  should  be  the 
main  book;  in  this  book,  written  outside  with  blood,  inside 
with  love,  every  perfection  is  taught,  as  well  how  to  act  as 
how  to  suffer."  She  did  this  herself.  As  the  bee,  flying 
from  flower  to  flower,  sucks  the  sweet  juice  and  prepares  it 
for  honey,  so  did  her  mind  fly  to  all  the  wounds  of  the 
Lord,  to  gather  from  His  sorrows  the  sweetness  of  love  and 
the  honey  of  grace  ;  for  the  more  her  mind  dwelt  on  the 
passion  of  our  Lord,  the  more  abundantly  did  He  pour  on 
her  the  flood  of  His  graces,  which  seemed  to  drown  all  the 
faults  of  nature,  to  fructify  every  virtue,  and  transform  all 
suffering  into  love  and  delight. 

In  her  spiritual  intercourse  with  those  subject  to  her, 
she  instructed  them  how  to  enter  into  the  particulars  of 
the  sufferings  of  Christ,  both  when  at  meditation  and  at 
work.  She  divided  the  whole  history  of  the  passion  into 
many  points  for  them,  distributing  these  points  to  the  days 
of  the  week,  and  the  hours  of  the  day,  and  instructing 
them  how  to  unite  their  own  work  and  occupation  to  the 
corresponding  mysteries  and  merits  of  the  suffering 
Eedeemer.  In  order  to  get  an  external  hold  they  were  to 
consider  the  objects  and  tools  of  their  occupation  as  a  mir- 
ror in  which  some  mystery  was  reflected.  For  instance,3 
when  drinking  they  should  think  of  the  gall  and  vinegar 

'  Gal.  11.  19,  *  Summ.  N.  12  3  Suium.  N.  13.  8  67-71. 


154        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

presented  to  Christ  on  the  cross  :  when  drawing  water,  of 
the  brook  Cedroii.  The  linen  before  them  should  remind 
them  of  the  sheets  in  the  sepulchre,  or  of  Veronica's  veil. 
Forks  and  knives,  of  the  lance  ;  plates,  of  the  crown  of 
thorns ;  when  ascending  a  stair-case  they  should  in  spirit 
go  up  Mount  Calvary  ;  when  carrying  wood,  help  the 
Saviour  to  carry  His  cross  ;  and  so  of  the  rest.  By  dili- 
gently practising  exercises  of  this  description,  the  servant 
of  God  maintained  that  they  would  soon  acquire  an  apti- 
tude to  see,  as  from  themselves,  some  remembrance  of  the 
suffering  Saviour  everywhere  and  be  spontaneously  im- 
pelled to  perform  every  action  in  union  with  Christ.  Yet 
this  exercise,  she  prudently  added,  must  be  carried  on  with- 
out any  violent  exertion  of  the  mind,  and  was  not  to  be  en- 
tertained as  a  mere  play  of  thought,  which  would  only 
bring  forth  leaves  instead  of  fruit ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
aim  should  be  rather  to  unite  one's  interior  affections  with 
the  Redeemer  and  imitate  His  virtues,  alike  in  our  hidden 
as  in  our  public  life.  This  is  the  aim  and  end  of  every 
true  devotion.  If,  for  example,  they  wished  to  represent 
to  themselves  the  mournful  parting  of  Christ  from  His 
sorrowful  Mother,  they  must  excite  the  same  affections  in 
their  own  hearts :  "  Oh,  with  what  sorrow  do  the  holiest 
persons  part ;  then  will  I  also  separate  myself  willingly 
from  parents,  relatives,  and  from  everything  that  is  not 
God."  And  when  they  remembered  the  blow  Christ  received 
on  His  cheek,  they  should  at  once  say  within  their  hearts  : 
"  I,  too,  will  silently  and  meekly  suffer  all  humiliations 
for  love  of  Him."  In  order  more  and  more  to  foster  venera- 
tion for  the  passion  of  Christ  in  her  religious  community, 
and  thus  open  for  them  the  most  copious  fountain  of  spirit- 
ual grace  and  consolation,  she,  as  soon  as  she  was  appointed 
Mother  Superior,  had  large  pictures  of  the  Stations 
made;  these  are  still  in  the  convent.  Also,  with  all  the  in- 
fluence she  could  command,  and  yet  more  by  her  example 
than  by  precept,  she  fostered  the  salutary  custom  of  per- 
forming the  Stations,  a  custom  whieh,thanksbe  to  the  Lord, 


The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ.  155 

is  now  spreading  more  and  more  over  the  whole  Church. 
As  long  as  she  could  drag  herself  along,  she  never  omitted, 
for  a  single  day,  performing  the  Stations  with  edifying  de- 
votion. At  the  beginning  and  end  of  this  devotion  she 
tarried  a  long  while  before  the  statue  of  the  Mother  of  Dolors. 
At  the  beginning  she  chose  her  for  her  companion  on  the 
sorrowful  road,  and  at  the  conclusion  she  offered  everything, 
through  those  hands,  rich  in  grace,  to  her  beloved  Saviour. 
At  her  last  sickness  she  had  the  pictures  of  the  Stations 
set  up  in  her  room,  to  have  them  always  before  her  eyes 
while  on  her  couch  of  suffering. 

Among  the  mysteries  of  the  passion  she  had  a  special  rev- 
erence for  the  silence  which  Jesus  observed  when  calumni- 
ated and  scoffed  at.  The  words,  "  Jesus  held  His  peace," 
served  her  as  a  shield  which  enabled  her  easily  to  ward  off 
the  most  fiery  arrows  of  abuse.  She  also  liked  to  tarry  a 
long  while  in  the  Garden  of  Olives,  which  offered  her,  in 
Christ's  agony  unto  death  and  in  the  mysterious  sweating 
of  blood,  abundant  matter  for  pious  reflections.  There  her 
heart  was  filled  with  bitter  sorrow  and  with  ardent  love. 
The  heart-rending  parting  of  the  Mother  of  God  from  her 
Son,  her  station  beneath  the  cross,  the  three  hours'  martyr- 
dom of  Christ,  were  to  her  an  inexhaustible  ocean  of  holy  med- 
itation and  of  ardent  affection,  nay,  a  means  by  which  her 
interior  being  seemed  to  be  transformed  into  a  likeness 
of  the  suffering  and  loving  Redeemer.  In  Lent,  and 
more  particularly  in  Holy  Week,  her  mind  scarcely  left  the 
cross  at  all  ;  she  would  kneel  for  hours,  with  arms  extended, 
rigid,  and  immovable,  before  a  picture  of  the  Crucified, 
or  of  the  Mother  of  Sorrows.  No  one  could  understand 
how  one  so  sick  and  feeble  as  she  was  could  continue  so 
long  in  such  a  position. 

On  the  Fridays  of  Lent,  and  particularly  in  Holy  Week, 
she  observed  her  usual  fasts  in  a  yet  stricter  degree  :  sunk 
in  profound  silence  and  recollection,  she  never  turned  her 
eyes  away  from  the  suffering  Saviour.  Her  sympathy  for 
Him  tore  her  heart  to  pieces,  and  manifested  itself  by  irre- 


1 56        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

pressible  tears,  by  copious  bleeding  of  the  heart,  and  by 
her  whole  appearance,  which  was  that  of  one  so  exhausted 
and  so  intensely  suffering,  that  she  often  appeared  to  be  al- 
most dying  from  sheer  pain  of  the  heart. 

Such  an  uninterrupted  and  loving  occupation  with  the 
suffering  of  Christ  could  not  fail  to  bring  forth  extraor- 
dinary effects.  Her  imagination  was  so  filled  with  holy  rep- 
resentations of  the  passion,  that  she  had  scarcely  room  for 
anything  else.  Even  in  sleep  she  was  in  spirit  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  or  in  other  places  where  the  Redeemer 
had  suffered.  Her  mind  read  in  these  pictures  nothing 
but  love,  given  and  returned.  It  was  a  striking  fact,  that 
she  could  give  the  slightest  historical  or  geographical  cir- 
cumstance of  the  life  and  suffering  of  Christ  with  as  much 
exactitude  as  if  she  had  seen  it  herself.  It  was  impossible 
that  she  could  have  acquired  this  knowledge  from  books. 

A  higher  light  must  have  at  least  co-operated  here  ;  a 
light  such  as  we  so  often  find  in  holy  souls,  and  particular- 
ly must  acknowledge  and  admire  in  the  saintly  Anne 
Catherine  Emmerich.  A  Father  of  the  Franciscan  Order 
who  had  spent  many  years  in  the  Holy  Land,  spoke  to  her 
of  the  holy  places.  He  could  not  suppress  his  astonishment 
when  she  gave  him  a  most  accurate  description  of  Jeru- 
salem, Bethlehem,  Nazareth,  and  the  rest  :  he  expressed 
himself  to  the  effect  that  she  knew  them  all  better  than  he 
did  himself.  This  assiduous  meditation  on  the  passion  of 
Christ  produced  the  most  precious  effect  in  her  soul,  for 
thereby  she  died  totally  to  everything  that  is  not  God 
Himself,  her  heart  melted  away  entirely  in  her  Crucified 
Love,  and  she  acquired  an  ardent  desire  for  suffering  of 
every  kind.  She  seems  to  have  considered  it  the  most  en- 
viable lot  a  mortal  can  attain  to,  that  of  being  enabled  to 
share  the  martyrdom  of  Christ  and  of  experiencing  the 
interior  and  exterior  torments  He  underwent. 

It  would  be  surprising  if  Christ  had  satisfied  this  crav- 
ing for  His  passion,  infused  by  Himself,  merely  by  suffer- 
ings of  an  ordinary  and  r\ti-rior  diarac-u-r.  \\V  .--Imuld 


Tke  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ.  157 

rather  expect  that  she,  like  so  many  contemplative  Saints, 
was  to  be  made  worthy  to  participate  in  the  passion  of  the 
Crucified,  in  a  mystical  manner,  even  though  she  did  not 
precisely  receive  the  grace  of  stigmatization.  The  reality 
of  such  a  suffering  in  her  is  placed  beyond  doubt.  She 
sought,  indeed,  to  conceal  such  a  mystery  from  the  eyes  of 
men,  but  it  could  not  always  remain  hidden  from  her  Sis- 
ters in  the  convent.  They  noticed  '  that  on  Thursday 
evening,  when  the  bell  was  rung  for  the  devotion  of  the 
agony,  her  whole  being  was  so  painfully  changed  that  she 
resembled  a  dying  person.  On  Friday  morning  she  could 
scarcely  walk  or  speak,  so  crushed  was  she  with  pain 
and  grief;  she  was  then  a  real  picture  of  misery.  This 
misery  reached  its  height  from  nine  o'clock  in  the 
morning  till  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  For  the  most 
part  she,  on  Friday,  neither  ate,  drank,  nor  spoke  at  all,  or,  at 
most,  scarcely  at  all.  The  Mother  Superior  very  often  com- 
manded her  then  to  go  to  bed,  where  she  found  her  several 
times  wholly  stiff  and  apparently  half  dead.  After  three 
o'clock  she  revived;  she  was,  however,  so  exhausted,  that  fre- 
quently she  could  not  even  eat  anything.  This  manifest- 
ation recurring  at  regular  intervals  and  no  one  being  able 
to  find  a  natural  cause  for  it,  the  conclusion  arrived  at  was, 
that  on  these  days  the  servant  of  God  was  not  so  much 
meditating  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  as  sympathizing 
with  them,  and  by  this  sympathy  reproducing  them  in  her 
own  person.  For  many  years  (one  report  says  three  years) 
this  state  of  hers  appeared  prominently  in  the  highest  de- 
gree and  in  a  striking  manner  ; a  it  then  became  less  visible 
to  the  eyes  of  others.  Father  Ott 3  says  that  by  continual 
prayer  she  had  obtained  the  grace,  that  while  the  pains 
continued  the  same,  they  should  not  reveal  themselves  ex- 
teriorly in  so  great  a  degree  before  the  eyes  of  others.  But 
a  closer  observation  could  not  fail  to  apprehend  that  on 
such  days  a  most  extraordinary  suffering  continued  to  be 


1  Summ.  N.  12,  §  28,  <H,  CO.— Gabriel,  p.  234.— Ott.  B.  II.  C.  5. 

2  Kuizcnborarr,  Life,  etc.  C.  13.  3  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  13. 


158       The  Life  of  I 'c ii.  Mary  Crescentia. 

felt.  Sister  Joachim  Kogl  confidently  asserts  that  she  had 
noticed  it  for  eleven  years,  and  Sister  Bernardina  Gast 
had  observed  it  for  nineteen  years  when  they  were  living 
together. 

More  reliable  details  are  not  forthcoming,  especially  as 
the  reports  of  Sister  M.  Anna  Neth  and  the  narrative 
founded  upon  them  of  Father  Kilian  Katzenberger,  are  not 
trustworthy  A  remark  of  the  latter  may,  however,  find  a 
place  here ;  he  said  that  Crescentia  herself  had  acknowl- 
edged to  him  that  she  suffered  pains  in  her  head,  as  if  it 
were  pricked  with  thorns,  and  in  her  left  side,  as  if  it  had 
been  pierced  by  a  double-edged  sword.  We  add  two  more 
miraculous  occurrences,  which  are  undeniable,  and  are  relat- 
ed at  full  length  by  Father  Ott.1 

In  Cresceutia's  cell  there  was  a  large  crucifix  for  which 
she  had  a  special  veneration  ;  several  marvellous  things, 
which  she  considered  it  necessary  to  tell  the  Mother  Su- 
perior, had  occurred  in  reference  to  it.  The  prudent  Su- 
perioress feared  that  there  might  have  been  some  deception 
practised  ;  therefore,  one  morning,  when  the  servant  of 
God  was  in  the  choir  with  the  rest  of  the  Sisters,  she  se- 
cretly took  the  crucifix  away  from  the  cell  and  concealed  it 
in  a  place  to  which  no  one  had  access.  All  through  the 
day  she  waited,  in  expectation  that  Crescentia  would  notify 
her  of  the  loss  of  it.  But,  as  no  word  came,  she  herself,  on 
the  second  day,  asked  Crescentia  if  she  still  had  the  cruci- 
fix ;  she,  however,  had  never  missed  it,  and  the  Superior- 
ess convinced  herself  that  it  still  hung  in  its  usual  place, 
though  no  human  hand  could  have  carried  it  back.  Here- 
in she  found  a  just  confirmation  that  the  communications 
made  to  this  favored  soul  contained  no  deception. 

The  second  occurrence  is  still  more  remarkable,  and  every 
one  who  enters  the  cell  formerly  occupied  by  the  servant  of 
God  can,  with  his  own  eyes,  assure  himself  of  it.  Once, 
when  meditating  with  great  recollection  on  the  bloody 
scourging  of  Christ,  *  she  was  rapt  in  ecstasy  and  the 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  18.  *  Act.  B.  Reap.  S  178. 


The  Life  and  Passion  of  Christ.          \  59 

instruments  of  scourging  were  shown  to  her,  namely,  a 
whip  twisted  of  sharp  thorns,  and  a  scourge  with  fifteen 
pointed  hooks.  When  Mother  Johanna  heard  of  this  vis- 
ion (in  what  way  does  not  appear),  she  wished  for  a  proof 
of  its  truth,  and  commanded  Crescentia  to  make  a  drawing 
of  both  the  instruments  of  torture,  just  as  she  had  seen  them, 
and  to  do  this  in  the  room  in  which  they  were,  before  the 
very  eyes  of  the  Superioress,  so  that  every  possibility  of 
her  receiving  foreign  help  should  be  excluded. 

She  knew  that  Crescentia  had  never  received  any  in- 
struction in  drawing  or  sketching,  nor  practised  either 
in  even  the  least  degree.  But  the  heroic  obedience  of 
the  spouse  of  Christ  shrank  from  no  difficulty,  was  terrified 
by  no  obstacle  ;  it  could  accomplish  what  was  naturally 
impossible,  as  we  shall  also  see  elsewhere.  Speedily  she 
went  to  work,  and  drew  on  a  large  piece  of  paper  the  rod 
of  thorns  and  the  scourge,  using  the  simplest  means,  and 
producing  the  effect  in  but  few  touches,  but  these  so  artistic 
and  perfect,  that  no  one  can  comprehend  how  she  could 
have  rendered  the  work  so  complete  without  ever  having 
received  any  instruction  or  practice  in  sketching.  Many 
thousands  of  people  who  have  seen  these  drawings,  and 
among  these  some  great  masters  in  painting,  have  ex- 
pressed their  admiration  of  them.  ' 

Yet  in  reality  it  is  less  marvellous,  less  important,  that 
this  holy  soul  should  have  represented  the  scourges  on 
paper,  than  that,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  a 
vivid  image  of  the  Crucified  should  have  been  imprinted 
on  her  heart,  or  rather  that  she  herself  became  a  living 
picture  of  the  suffering  Kedeemer.  But  this  latter  is  re- 

1  The  photograph  added  here  will  certainly  convince  the  reader  of  the  masterly 
construction  of  these  pictures :  the  writing  on  them  is  a  certificate  that  M,  Crescen- 
tia, though  entirely  ignorant  of  drawing  and  sketching,  made  them  herself.  Mother 
M.  Joachim  Kogl,  July  1, 1744,  a  few  months  after  the  death  of  the  servant  of  God, 
testifies  to  this  officially.  A  supernatural  assistance  from  God  in  the  performance 
of  this  work  seems  to  guarantee  in  an  unmistakable  manner  the  genuineness  of  the 
vision.  Yet  no  absolute  certainty  is  here  arrived  at  (as  the  teachers  of  mystical 
life  explain  more  particularly)  that  the  actual  instruments  of  scourging  were  such 
as  are  here  described . 

Compare  Scaramelli,  Mystic,  B.  II.  i.  Sect.  c.  18. 


160        The  Life  of  I'cu.  Mary  Crescent  ia. 

quired   of  every  Christian,  namely,    that  in  the  sight  of 
God  he  "be  made  conformable  to  the  image  of  His  Son." 

Therefore,  0  Christian,  if  you  are  really  in  earnest  con- 
cerning your  salvation,  learn  in  the  living  book  of  the 
Cross,  and  direct  your  mind  and  soul  to  your  suffering 
Saviour  :  "  Christ,  therefore,  having  suffered  in  the  flesh, 
be  you  also  armed  with  the  same  thought."* 


CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Holy  Ghost  the  Sweet  Guest  of  her  Soul. 

j|Y  Baptism  the  Holy  Ghost,  with  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  takes  in  a  mysterious  way  His  abode  in  the 
heart  of  a  Christian;  in  the  ordinary  development 
of  the  life  of  grace,  .His  action  is,  however,  so  concealed 
in  the  interior  being,  or  so  limited,  by  the  free  activity  of 
mankind,  that  but  few  traces  of  it  penetrate  to  the  outside. 
With  Crescentia,  the  peculiar  child  of  grace,  however,  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  manifested  itself  so  openly 
from  the  very  first  years  of  her  childhood  (as  we  have  al- 
ready related)  that  every  one  was  astonished  at  it.  She 
alone  knew  it  not ;  but  she  honored  the  Holy  Ghost,  by 
faith,  with  the  most  affectionate  reverence.  Her  aim  and 
f  strenuous  desire  was  to  become  a  pure  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,s  to  cleanse  her  heart  from  every  particle  of  the  dust 
of  imperfection,  which  could  in  any  way  offend  the  eyes  of 
the  heavenly  Guest,  and  then  to  embellish  it  with  every 
virtue.  In  every  difficulty,  temptation,  and  suffering,  she 
at  once  invoked  the  Holy  Ghost.  As  a  preparation  for 
Pentecost,  she  made  a  novena  with  extraordinary  fervor. 
To  severe  penitential  practices  she  added  many  reflections, 
prayers,  and  continual  aspirations  of  love.  With  special 

>  Bom.  nil.  29.  - 1.  Peter  IT.  1.  '  Summ.  N.  18, 1 188. 


The  Holy  Ghost  the  Guest  of  Her  Soul.    161 

relish  she  repeated  the  beautiful  Church  hymns  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  particularly  the  "Veni  Creator  Spiritus."  Thus  it 
can  scarcely  excite  surprise  that  on  that  solemn  feast,  and 
during  its  octave,  she  used  to  receive  the  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  with  extraordinary  graces  in  great  abundance. 
This  interior  intercourse  of  her  heart  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
was  accompanied  with  many  apparitions,  as  He  often  ap- 
peared visible  to  the  eyes  of  her  soul,  in  the  form  of  a 
young  man.  This  is  stated  in  the  Acts  of  her  Beatification  ' 
and  also  by  Father  Ott, 2  from  whom  we  will  quote  but  one 
vision  out  of  the  many  he  relates  : 

The  Holy  Ghost  appeared  to  her  on  Pentecost  Sunday 
and  filled  her  soul  in  an  ineffable  manner  with  His  sevenfold 
gifts.  At  the  same  time  she  heard  these  words:  "Whoever 
loves  nothing  but  Me  alone,  I  will  confirm  in  Myself  and 
in  My  grace."  Connected  with  this  vision,  was  an  oper- 
ation of  enlightening  grace,  which  she  had  hitherto  never 
experienced,  which,  as  she  says  herself,  could  not  be  ex- 
plained by  words,  but  which  left  in  her  soul  a  light  alto- 
gether new  to  her.  This  unveiled  to  her  the  abyss  of  her 
nothingness,  and  disclosed  every  movement  of  nature  in 
a  manner  clear  as  daylight ;  and  more  yet,  it  enabled  her 
to  notice  and  distinguish  plainly,  in  her  own  soul,  the 
slightest  movement  and  effect  of  that  grace.  This  light  was 
doubtless  a  most  singular  and  precious  grace,  enabling  her 
to  advance  with  giant  strides  on  the  road  to  perfection. 

These  visions  of  the  Holy  Ghost  appearing  to  Crescentia 
under  the  form  of  a  young  man,  gave  occasion  to  great 
difficulties  at  the  preliminaries  of  her  beatification.  In 
order  to  place  the  reader  in  a  position  to  distinguish  truth 
from  falsehood,  we  find  ourselves  obliged  to  depart  from 
the  temporal  order  of  the  succession  of  events,  and  to  pass 
to  occurrences  which  happened  after  the  death  of  the  ser- 
vant of  God.  We  also  venture  to  hope  that  this  apparent 
digression  will  not  be  read  without  interest  and  instruc- 
tion. 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  11,  9  2.  »  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  2. 


1 62        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcsccntia. 

During  the  latter  years  of  Yen.  Mother  ('rescentia's  life, 
the  renown  of  her  sanctity  spread  far  beyond  the  bound- 
aries of  Germany,  and  even  reached  the  cars  of  Pope  Bene- 
dict XIV.,  so  renowned  for  his  astonishing  erudition,  and 
who  then  ruled  the  Church.  Perhaps  the  reports  he  had 
heard  of  her  marvellous  sanctity  had,  as  it  often  happens, 
received  additions,  exaggerations,  or  erroneous  construc- 
tions on  the  long  road  by  which  they  travelled  to  him  ; 
be  that  as  it  may,  the  prudent  Pope,  who  was  specially 
experienced  in  this  branch  of  theology,  thought  fit  to 
address  letters,  dated  May  17th,  1744,  to  Bishop  Joseph 
of  Augsburg,  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  concerning  the  servant 
of  God,  admonishing  him  to  oppose  in  due  season  probable 
fallacies,  and  ordering  a  summary  report  to  be  sent  to  him- 
self of  her  life  and  miraculous  gifts.  He  acted  upon  the 
supposition  that  Crescentia  was  still  alive,  although,  in  fact, 
she  had  died  six  weeks  before,  on  the  5th  of  April.  The 
commission  to  examine  her  life  thus  fell  through  of  itself, 
but  the  bishop  believed  that  he  was  acting  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Holy  Father,  by  instituting  the  pro- 
jected inquiry  even  after  her  death. 

In  order  to  carry  this  out  he  intrusted  the  design  to  two 
men  of  distinction,  well  versed  in  theology :  these  were  the 
spiritual  counsellor,  John  Baptist  Bassi,  canon  of  St. 
Mauritius,  and  the  renowned  writer,  Eusebius  Amort,  reg- 
ular canon  of  Pollingen,  and  episcopal  theologian,  who  is 
known  by  his  works  on  moral  theology  and  canon  law,  which 
are  widely  circulated,  as  also  by  his  acute  criticisms  of  the 
book  of  the  Ven.  Maria  D'Agreda,  entitled,  "  The  City  of 
God."  By  said  criticisms  he  had  come  into  a  learned  con- 
troversy with  several  Friars  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis, 
who  defended  the  work.  This  matter,  at  that  period,  ex- 
cited considerable  attention  and  interest  among  the  public. 
These  two  gentlemen  engaged  Father  Celestine  Agricola,  0. 
S.  B.,  Notary  Apostolic,  as  their  notary,  and  on  Septem- 
ber 16th,  1744,  began  the  investigation  intrusted  to  them, 
in  the  convent  at  Kaufbeuren.  They  by  no  means  observed 


The  Holy  Ghost  the  Guest  of  Her  Soul.    165 

the  customary  canonical  formalities ;  they  questioned  the 
witnesses  not  individually,  but  collectively,  without  swear- 
ing them  in  ;  then  the  questions  asked  were  of  such  a  general 
character  that  but  meagre  information  could  be  obtained. 
This  was  the  judgment  pronounced  by  Benedict  XIV.  him- 
self, as  the  Brief  we  will  shortly  bring  forward  shows. 
The  Acts  drawn  up  in  consequence  of  this  investigation 
were  transmitted  to  Rome,  and  by  the  Pope  they  were 
in  the  first  place  intrusted  to  a  special  commission  for  ex- 
amination, after  which  they  were  read  by  himself.' 

The  result  was,  that  the  Holy  Father  did  not  find  the 
suspicion  of  deceit  in  any  way  confirmed,  but  neither  did 
he  discover  any  convincing  proof  of  extraordinary  sancti- 
ty. On  the  contrary,  he  believed  that  he  had  found  indica- 
tions of  something  very  objectionable  in  these  Acts  ;  name- 
ly, that  the  servant  of  God  had  originated,  published,  and 
approved  pictures  of  the  Holy  Ghost  under  the  form  of  a 
young  man  ;  moreover,  that  she  had  distributed  beads, 
crosses,  and  other  blessed  articles  of  devotion,  which  the 
people  believed  had  been  blessed  and  indulgenced  by  God 
Himself  ;  and  since  the  bishop  had  written,  in  a  letter 
which  accompanied  the  Acts,  that  representations  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  said  form  had  been  promulgated  in  his  dio- 
cese and  had  been  prohibited  by  him,  the  Holy  Father,  on 
October  1st,  A.  D.  1745,  issued  a  new  brief  to  the  Bishop  of 
Augsburg,  which  occupies  six  folio  pages  in  the  Bullarium.2 
A  short  synopsis  of  this  brief  will  explain  the  state  of  this 
affair  to  the  reader  : 

The  Holy  Father  first  advises  the  bishop  that  in  the  in- 
vestigation concerning  the  sanctity  of  the  deceased  servant 
of  God,  the  rules  should  be  faithfully  observed  which  in 
such  cases  are  applied  at  Rome  and  which  he  himself  had 

1  The  original  manuscript  of  this  report  was  not  to  be  found  at  the  process  of 
beatification ;  nor  even  an  authenticated  copy,  notwithstanding  every  effort  made  to 
obtain  one.  A  sketch  of  it  without  the  conclusion  was  discovered  and  is  printed  thus : 
Act.  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  5.  The  author  of  this  biography,  however,  found  an  authen- 
ticated copy  in  the  parish  archives  of  Kaufbeuren,  which  had  been  brought  thither 
from  a  suppressed  convent. 

*  Bullarium  Bened.  XIV.,  torn  1,  edit.  Rom.  p.  500,  edit  Luxemb.,  p.  318. 


164        The  Life  of  I'cii.  Mnry  Crescentia. 

compiled  in  his  work  on  Canonization  ;  then  he  desired 
that  the  whole  subject  should  be  for  the  present  postponed, 
as  present  circumstances  seemed  to  require  this,  while 
meantime  watch  should  be  kept,  as  to  how  things  would 
develop  themselves.  He  then  refers  to  the  pictures  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  The  question  as  to  whether  Crescentia  orig- 
inated, distributed,  and  approved  these  pictures,  he  will  at 
present  leave  undecided  ;  he  descants,  however,  at  large,  on 
the  question  as  to  whether  it  is  permitted  to  represent  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  form  of  a  young  man,  and  to  use  and 
venerate  such  pictures. 

He  first  approves  of  the  measures  taken  by  the  bishop 
against  such  pictures,  and  exhorts  him  not  to  permit  them 
to  be  made  and  promulgated,  nay,  even — prudently  and 
without  noise — to  put  those  out  of  the  way  which  already 
exist.  He  then  gives  his  reasons  for  this  prohibition  with 
great  clearness  and  astonishing  erudition.  In  this  he  pro- 
ceeds from  the  acknowledged  principle  of  the  Church,  that 
the  Godhead  being  in  itself  spiritual  and  invisible,  cannot 
be  represented  by  any  imagery,  and  can  only  be  pictured 
in  that  form  in  which  it  has  deigned  to  appear  to  men,  ac- 
cording to  the  testimony  of  Holy  Writ.  He  establishes 
this  sentence  as  the  correct  one,  and  applies  it  to  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  according  to  this,  and  to  the 
custom  of  Holy  Church,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  to  be  represented 
by  the  symbolic  form  of  the  Dove,  or,  when  picturing  His 
descent  on  the  Apostles,  etc.,  in  the  form  of  fiery  tongues. 
Any  other  representation  illustrative  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  not  in  accordance  with  the  principles  and  customs  of  the 
Church.  He  then  solves  several  objections,  and  finally 
touches  upon  the  second  accusation,  which  falsely  attributes 
to  Crescentia  the  charge  that  she  had  promulgated  false  in- 
dulgences, superstitious  blessings  and  practices.  Of  this, 
however,  we  will  speak  in  another  place. 

This  letter  of  the  Holy  Father  had  manifestly  decided 
nothing  respecting  Crescentia  and  her  beatification.  Yet  it 
gave  occasion  to  postponing  the  opening  of  the  canon- 


The  Holy  Ghost  the  Guest  of  Hey  Soul.     165 

ical  process  of  her  beatification,  and  it  surrounded  the  beati- 
fication itself  with  more  difficulties  than  otherwise  would 
have  arisen.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  caused  the  whole 
affair  to  be  thoroughly  investigated,  and  finally  to  terminate 
to  the  honor  of  the  servant  of  God.  It  was  because  the 
Promotor  fidei,1  referring  to  this  Brief,  objected  to  the 
opening  of  the  process,  that  a  special  investigation  was  in- 
stituted by  a  papal  commission,  concerning  the  points  in 
question,  in  the  place  itself,  and  the  depositions  of  many 
witnesses  were  taken  under  oath.  The  result  of  these 
lengthy  proceedings  we  will  here  give  in  a  few  brief 
words. 

First :  Ven.  M.  Crescentia  was,  in  no  sense,  the  origin- 
ator of  this  manner  of  representing  the  Holy  Ghost :  such 
pictures  had  been  in  vogue  from  time  immemorial,  in 
many  churches  of  Germany,  especially  in  the  dioceses  of 
Salzburg,  Passau,  Constance,  and  Munich-Freising ;  for 
instance,  at  Munich  at  St.  Peter's,  on  the  main  altar  of  the 
Church  of  the  Carmelite  nuns,  and  elsewhere.  In  the 
convent  at  Kaufbeuren,  also,  the  Sisters  had  some  old  cop- 
per engravings,  made  before  Crescentia  was  born,  represent- 
ing the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  shape  of  a  young  man,  with  this 
inscription  in  Latin  :  "  In  this  form  the  Holy  Ghost  re- 
vealed Himself  to  the  holy  virgin  Theresa."  Secondly,  it 
was  not  Crescentia,  but  her  Superior,  Mother  Johanna,  who 
had  the  little  copper  engravings  made,  as  well  as  the  large 
and  beautiful  picture  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Under  this  Super- 
ioress, such  pictures  were  frequently  distributed  by  the 
convent;  on  several  of  them  the  name  of  Crescentia  ap- 
pears, but  the  writing  on  all  those,  at  least,  which  the 
author  has  seen,  betrays  the  hand  of  Sister  M.  Anna  Neth. 
Thirdly,  as  soon  as  Crescentia  herself  became  Superioress, 
she  forbade  those  under  her  rule  to  distribute  any  more  of 
these  pictures,  and  to  cut  off  the  opportunity  of  trans- 
gressing this  prohibition,  she  took  away  from  them  all 

1  The  officer  whose  duty  it  Is  to  establish  the  validity  of  all  objections  made  to  a 
beatification  or  canonization. 


1 66        'J'/ie  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

they  had  left.  This  is  affirmed  on  oath  by  the  Sisters  who 
themselves  had  to  give  them  up.  In  this  way  all  the  sup- 
positions on  which  the  Promotor  fidei  based  his  objections 
fell  to  the  ground. 

The  truth  of  the  matter  seems  to  be,  that  not  infrequent- 
ly Crescentia  had  had  a  vision  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  which  He 
became  visible  to  the  eyes  of  her  spirit  as  a  young  man  of 
beautiful  form,  clothed  in  a  garment  as  white  as  snow, 
bare-headed,  with  curling  hair,  His  head  being  surrounded 
by  seven  tongues  of  fire.  It  is  thus  stated  by  Father  Ott,  and 
by  several  other  witnesses,  who  are  mentioned  in  the  Acts, 
and  who  assert  that  they  heard  the  matter  from  others, 
who  in  turn  had  heard  it  from  herself.  The  genuineness 
and  reality  of  this  vision  we  may  safely  leave  to  the  de- 
fender of  Crescentia  in  the  process  of  her  beatification, 
and  with  him  maintain,  that  no  probable  reason  can  be 
alleged  against  the  possibility  and  divine  source  of  such  a 
vision. 

If  we  rely  on  the  report  of  Father  Ott,  which  is  confirmed 
by  the  tradition  of  the  convent,  Sister  M.  Crescentia  had 
her  own  share  in  producing  the  large  and  beautiful  picture 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.1  According  to  his  statement,  it  hap- 
pened thus  :  Mother  Superior  Johanna,  who  had  already 
ordered  many  little  pictures  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  be 
printed,  wished  to  get  a  large  one  made  after  the  form 
Crescentia  had  seen  in  her  vision.  In  the  year  1727  or 
1728,  she  commissioned  a  painter  of  Munich,  named  Rufin, 
to  carry  it  out.  This  the  painter  found  it  difficult  to  do, 
from  the  testimony  which  Crescentia  was  compelled  to  give 
him.  The  servant  of  God  was  now  commanded,  under 
obedience,  to  furnish  the  painter  with  full  particulars  and 
do  all  in  her  power  to  cause  this  pictorial  illustration 
to  exactly  resemble  the  vision  she  had  beheld.  Hard 
as  this  command  was  to  her  humility,  she  faithfully  com- 
plied with  it,  and  in  a  few  days  the  picture  was  completed 
with  perfect  success.  No  one  was  more  astonished  at  the 

1  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  2,  p.  262. 


The  Holy  Ghost  the  Guest  of  Her  Soul.     167 

facility  with  which  it  had  been  achieved,  and  at  the  per- 
fection of  the  work,  than  the  painter  himself.  He  wished 
to  make  a  copy  of  it  at  once  for  the  Countess  Amalia, 
afterwards  Empress,  who  was  a  great  admirer  of  Crescentia. 
But,  strange  to  say,  no  matter  what  pains  he  took,  he  had 
no  success  with  the  copy.  He  acknowledged  afterwards,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  that  through  the  merits  of  Crescentia 
the  Holy  Ghost  Himself  must  have  helped  with  the  first 
picture.  All  who  saw  the  picture  admired  it  beyond  ex- 
pression. A  countess  afterwards  donated  a  splendid  frame 
for  it.  It  was  not  publicly  exposed,  but  kept  in  a  room. 
Father  Ott  adds  the  following  literally  :  "I  myself, 
while  here,  had  the  great  honor  of  showing  this  picture 
thirty  times,  or  thereabouts,  to  distinguished  persons,  noble- 
men, and  men  of  princely  rank.  The  most  honored  Em- 
press (Amalia)  was  so  pleased  with  it  that,  in  1735,  she  had  a 
similar  image  made  of  drawn  silver,  (as far  as  the  goldsmith 
could  catch  the  shape),  and  most  kindly  presented  it  to 
the  convent." 

As  it  was  from  obedience  that  Crescentia  assisted  in  the 
making  of  this  picture,  surely  no  one  will  venture  to  declare 
this  obedience,  under  these  circumstances,  unlawful, when 
under  the  eyes  of  spiritual  authorities  and  father  confes- 
sors, this  kind  of  picture  had  been  in  use  from  time  imme- 
morial. We  are  even  justified  in  supposing  that  she  herself 
held  a  different  opinion ;  for  it  by  no  means  follows 
from  her  silence  and  the  assistance  she  rendered  to  the 
painter  that  she  inwardly  approved  of  the  act.  In  the  re- 
port made  to  the  Pope  immediately  after  her  death  by 
Amort  and  Bassi,  which  report  confirms  Father  Ott's 
statement,  Sister  M.  Justina  affirms:1  "From  the  very 
time  that  the  picture  of  the  Holy  Ghost  was  published,  she 
took  only  water  to  drink,  and  continued  the  practice  to 
the  time  of  her  death."  If  to  this  we  add  that  as  soon  as 
she  became  Superioress  she  confiscated  the  pictures,  it  is 
not  improbable  that  the  whole  proceeding  displeased  her, 

1  Act.  B.  N.  15,  §  19. 


1 68        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

although  sin-  humbly  submitted  her  judgment  to  that  of 
her  Superiors,  or  at  least  preferred  to  keep  silence.  And 
suppose  she  had  in  previous  years  unconditionally  con- 
sented to  that  custom,  such  an  inculpable  error,  in  a  mere 
matter  of  discipline,  not  of  faith,  is  no  evidence  whatever 
against  her  eminent  sanctity.  Great  Saints,  nay,  Doctors  of 
the  Church,  have  erred  unconsciously,  in  real  matters 
of  faith,  when,  in  their  time,  the  Church  had  not  yet  pro- 
nounced her  decision  on  these  points.1 

Veneration  for  the  Holy  Ghost  should  be  cherished  by 
every  Christian,  inasmuch  as  he  is  called  to  be  a  pure 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  "  Therefore  grieve  not  the 
holy  Spirit  of  God  :  whereby  you  are  sealed  unto  the  day 
of  redemption."3 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Crescentia's  Fervor  in  Honoring  the  Mother  of  God, 
the  Angels,  and  Saints. 

}E  who  loves  Jesus,  will  also  love  His  Mother.  He 
who  loves  the  Mother  will  likewise  love  the  Sou." 
These  were  words  frequently  heard  from  the 
lips  of  the  servant  of  God.  They  are  well  adapted,  not 
only  to  vindicate  the  teaching  of  the  Church  against 
heresy,  but  also  the  practice  of  her  Saints  against  the  ir- 
resolute hesitation  of  tepid  and  superficial  spirits,  who  rend 
asunder  elements  which  in  life  naturally  flow  on  together, 
and  think  they  perceive  an  injury  done  to  the  honor  due 

1  Said  picture  of  the  painter  Rufln  is  still  in  the  convent,  but  carefully  kept 
behind  lock  and  bolt.  The  author  has  seen  it,  but  it  was  ius  an  exception  to  the 
rule  and  he  must  acknowledge  that  few  pictures  ever  made  so  touching  an 
impression  on  him.  The  silver  statue  modelled  from  it  was  confiscated  by  the 
state  in  1801.  This  present  of  the  Empress,  together  with  many  silver  and  gnM 
votive  tablets,  has  probably  passed  into  the  hands  of  sppcnlatinir  inou<-y-Krabbrrs. 

*  Eph.  Jv.  30. 


Her  Fervor.  169 

to  Christ  in  every  fervent  devotion  to  her  who,  as  Virgin 
and  Mother,  received  and  brought  forth  for  us  the  "Word 
full  of  grace  and  truth. " 

Crescentia,  from  her  very  infancy,  entered  into  a  very 
sweet  and  tender  relationship  with  the  Mother  of  God. 
This  became  more  and  more  perfected  as  years  rolled  on, 
until  it  reached  such  a  high  degree  that  she  finally  ap- 
peared to  live  only  in  and  by  the  hearts  of  Jesus  and 
Mary.  Whoever  heard  her  speak  of  Mary,  could  not  fail 
to  be  touched  by  the  love-breathing  words  with  which  she 
extolled  the  Mother  of  mercy,  and  recommended  devotion 
to  her.  She  could  neither  hear  the  cherished  name  of 
Mary  mentioned,  nor  utter  it  herself,  without  bowing  her 
head  and  showing  exteriorly  the  love  and  devotion  which 
penetrated  her  heart.  She  generally  called  the  Queen  of 
Heaven  her  dearly  loved  Mother,  and  maintained  that  on 
numberless  occasions  she  had  experienced  that  Mary,  as 
the  best  and  truest  Mother,  had  kept  the  promise  she  had 
made  to  her  in  the  years  of  her  childhood  :  namely,  that 
as  her  Mother  she  would  always  be  at  her  side,  assisting 
her. 

She  took  a  special  pleasure  in  speaking  of  the  prerog- 
atives of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mother,  and  it  was  in  words 
of  glowing  enthusiasm,  full  of  light  and  love,  that  she  ex- 
tolled the  exalted  Daughter  of  the  heavenly  Father,  the 
Mother,  full  of  grace,  of  the  Son,  the  Immaculate  Spouse 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Mistress  and  Queen  of  Heaven  and 
earth,  the  joy  and  delight  of  the  angels,  the  miracle 
of  created  beauty,,  the  Mother  of  mercy,  and,  after  God? 
through  Christ,  the  principal  mediatrix  of  our  salvation,  by 
whom  we  receive  all  graces.  '  With  regard  to  the  two  mys- 
teries of  the  Immaculate  Conception  and  the  Perpetual 
Virginity  of  Mary,  she,  (to  use  Sister  M.  Gabriel's  expres- 
sion) stood  like  a  wall.  She  often  repeated  :  "It  would 
be  my  greatest  delight,  if,  as  a  slave  of  love,  I  might  sacri- 
fice my  life  for  the  sublime  mystery  of  the  Immaculate 
1  Gabriel,  p.  i!v">,  eu-. 


170        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Conception  ;  and  with  my  own  blood  bear  witness  that 
Mary  was  a  Virgin,  before,  in,  and  after  the  birth  of  her 
Divine  Son." 

She  was  often  heard  to  say  certain  verses  in  honor  and 
love  of  Mary,  which  doubtless  she  uttered  still  oftener  in 
heart.  As,  "  Deign  to  let  me  praise  thee,  my  dear  Mother," 
or,  "  My  heart  is  glad  in  the  Lord,  and  rejoices  in  Mary, 
my  beloved  Mother." — "0  Mary,  show  thyself  to  be  my 
merciful  Mother! " — "  0  ye  powers  of  Heaven,  sing  a  new 
song  to  Mary,  because  she  is  full  of  grace! " — "  0  Mary,  re- 
member me,  and  say  that  thou  art  my  Mother  !  that  suffices 
me."  '  Every  day  she  recited  the  usual  Office  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary  in  honor  of  her  beloved  Mother,  as  also  that 
of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  for  which  she  had  a  special 
affection  ;  moreover,  she  said  the  beads,  the  litany  of  Loret- 
to,  and  often  during  the  day,  the  beautiful  prayer,  <l  We  fly 
to  thy  patronage,"  as  also  the  glorious  "Magnificat."  When 
the  bell  rang  the  "  Angelus  Domini,"  she  said  the  prayers 
kneeling :  not  hurriedly  or  superficially,  as  is  often  done, 
but  with  edifying  devotion. 

Before  the  principal  feasts  of  the  Mother  of  God  she 
made  novenas  with  strict  fasts  and  penitential  exercises, 
with  the  practise  of  virtue,  meditation,  and  prayer,  which 
she  increased  on  the  vigils.  On  the  feast-days  themselves, 
she  was  altogether  occupied  with  the  praise,  love,  and  con- 
gratulations which  she  tendered  the  Blessed  Virgin,  and 
she  poured  forth  her  heart  in  gratitude  to  God  for  the 
great  things  He  had  done  unto  Mary  ;  she  could  with 
difficulty  finish,  and  her  feelings  could  scarcely  remain 
concealed  from  her  Sisters  in  religion.  It  was  her 
inviolable  resolution  to  refuse  no  petition  if  made  in  the 
name  of  Mary,  unless  such  petition  was  opposed  to  the 
will  of  God. 

Her  confidence  in  Mary  knew  no  bounds  ;  all  the  graces 
she  had  received  she  attributed  to  her  maternal  interces- 
sion. She  affirmed  that  no  petition  had  hitherto  ever  been 

1  Gabriel,  p.  1."..".  rt.-. 


Her  Fervor.  171 

refused,  that  none  would  in  future  time  be  unheard  by 
Mary,  nay,  that  with  maternal  solicitude  the  good  Mother 
even  grants  blessings  before  being  asked.  She  exhorted 
till  persons  with  whom  she  came  in  contact  to  have  the 
same  confidence  in  Mary  and  to  call  on  her  for  help. 
When  Father  Dominions  G-leich,  0.  S.  F.  spoke  to  her  of 
some  disease  he  had  in  his  feet,  which  hindered  him  from 
walking,  she  at  once  earnestly  exhorted  him  to  have  re- 
course to  Mary,  the  "Help  of  Christians."  He  did  so, 
relying  the  while  on  the  prayers  and  merits  of  the  servant 
of  God,  and  immediately  obtained  an  answer  to  his  prayer.1 

Whenever  there  was  a  case  of  converting  a  sinner,  she 
addressed  herself  in  full  confidence  to  "  the  Eefuge  of 
sinners,"  and  in  fact,  with  surprising  success  ;  but  she  did 
this  on  all  occasions,  when  any  need  was  felt,  or  any 
trouble,  doubt,  or  difficulty,  and  this  with  the  intimacy 
and  reliance  which  a  child  uses  in  approaching  its  own 
mother.  In  all  simplicity  she  told  Mary  of  her  joys  and 
sorrows,  asked  her,  as  a  child  would,  for  advice,  and  laid 
all  she  thought,  said,  did,  and  suffered,  in  her  hands, 
that  she  might  present  it  to  her  Divine  Son. 

It  was  one  of  her  fondest  occupations  to  accompany,  in 
spirit,  the  Blessed  Virgin  in  all  her  ways,  to  share  her 
labors  and  difficulties,  to  sympathize  from  her  heart  in 
her  joys  and  sorrows,  and  willingly,  continually,  to  serve 
her  and  her  Divine  Son,  as  a  maid-servant  should.  Before 
Christmas,  she  .travelled  with  Mary  to  Bethlehem,  stayed 
with  her  in  the  stable,  practising  the  various  devotions 
and  intentions  which  were  poured  into  her  with  rich 
abundance  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  With  Mary  she  fled  to 
Egypt,  waiting  upon  her  with  the  most  tender  love  ;  she 
then  went  back  with  her  to  Nazareth,  where  she  tar- 
ried in  her  service,  endeavoring  to  perform,  the  same 
offices  for  her,  in  the  spirit,  which  she  actually  performed 
in  the  body  for  the  Community.  During  Lent  she  stood, 
full  of  pain,  with  the  sorrowful  Mother  beneath  the  cross, 

'  Sumiu.  N.  12,  «  2-27. 


1 72        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

or  watched  with  her  at  the  sepulchre.  And  when  she 
meditated  on  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  she  never  forgot 
those  of  His  Mother ;  she,  too,  felt  in  her  heart  the 
thrust  of  the  sword,  which  Simeon  had  prophesied  should 
pierce  the  heart  of  the  Mother  of  the  Lord. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  her  devotion  to  Mary 
did  not  consist  in  mere  prayers  and  meditations.  She 
used  to  say  :  "  To  imitate  Mary  in  her  virtues  is  the 
true  veneration."  From  these  sublime  virtues  she  rarely 
turned  away  her  eyes ;  to  gaze  at  them,  admire  them, 
thank  God  for  them,  ask  for  them,  and  earnestly  strive 
to  imitate  them,  was  her  daily  occupation.  She  never 
went  to  Holy  Communion  without  having  first  shown 
her  poverty  to  the  Mother  of  mercy,  begging  an  alms, 
often  and  lovingly  beseeching  her  to  clothe  her  mis- 
erable child  with  the  garment  of  her  own  virtues,  admired 
by  Heaven  and  earth. 

Such  veneration  and  love  could  not  remain  unrequited 
by  the  Mother  of  divine  grace.  Father  Ott '  says  on  this 
subject :  "  In  the  holy  strife  of  love,  as  to  whether  the 
child  showed  the  Mother  the  greater  love  and  honor,  or 
the  Mother  conferred  on  the  child  the  greater  favors, 
the  victory  was  always  decided  in  favor  of  the  Mother. " 
From  Mary  she  always  found  more  than  the  needful 
protection  in  dangers,  strength  in  trials,  consolation 
in  suffering.  The  more  hell  and  the  world  stormed 
against  her,  the  greater  was  the  security,  and  protection 
afforded  her  by  the  invincible  "  Tower  of  David."  She 
had  frequent  visions  of  the  Most  Blessed  Virgin,  who  with 
gracious  speeches,  salutary  admonitions,  and  instructions, 
filled  her  with  a  plenitude  of  delight  and  of  efficacious 
grace. 

We  have  already  related  that  while  still  a  child  she  re- 
ceived from  the  Mother  of  God  the  promise  that  she  would 
be  a  mother  to  her,  and  assist  her  in  every  way.  Accord- 
ing to  her  own  assertion,  the  Mother  of  God  had  deigned  to 

1   Ott,  B.  II.  C.  5. 


Her  Fervor.  1 73 

put  the  Blessed  Infant  in  her  arms.'  This  often  happened 
when  the  Litany  of  Loretto  was  sung.  On  the  Feast  of 
the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary  she  beheld, 
as  in  a  vision,  the  glorious  entry  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
into  the  Holy  City  of  God.2 

When  the  persecutions  against  the  servant  of  God,  during 
the  first  years  of  her  religious  life,  had  reached  their  high- 
est point,  the  "  Help  of  Christians"  once  appeared  to  her, 
and  said  :  "You  must  not  fear  them,  because  I  will  assist 
you." '  Such  words  from  such  powerful  lips  may  well  have 
inspired  her  with  that  firmness  as  of  a  rock,  which  was  in- 
explicable to  all,  and  offensive  to  some.  Another  time, 
when  the  waves  of  persecution  rolled  mountains  high,  she 
east  herself  on  her  knees  before  a  picture  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  in  her  cell,  not,  however,  to  ask  to  be  relieved  of 
suffering,  but  to  beseech  Mary  to  take  these  sorrows  with 
her  virginal  hands  to  her  Divine  Redeemer  and  to  lay  them 
as  a  sacrifice  of  love  in  His  Sacred  Heart.  The  Queen  of 
Heaven  then  appeared  to  her  crowned  with  surpassing 
glory  and  said,  with  a  lovely  smile  on  her  face  :  "  I  rejoice  to 
bring  such  a  pleasant  offering  to  my  Divine  Son,  and  I  as- 
sure you  that  it  will  win  for  you  a  copious  stream  of  grace 
to  flow  into  your  heart.  Prepare  for  new  persecutions, 
bearing  ever  in  mind  what  my  Divine  Son  spoke  to  His 
disciples:  'If  they  have  persecuted  Me,  they  will  also  per- 
secute you." 

She  prayed  most  earnestly,  like  a  poor  beggar,  to  the 
"  Mother  of  fair  love,"  for  the  gift  of  constantly  increasing 
love  of  God.  "When  she  was  once  asking  most  fervently  for 
this  glorious  "  gift  of  love,"  the  Virgin  Mother  appeared  to 
her  with  the  Infant  and  said  :  "  My  daughter,  if  you 
humble  and  annihilate  yourself  like  this  Child,  you  will 
love  Him  truly  and  perfectly."  The  spouse  of  Christ  re- 
plied :  "0  Mother  of  God  !  I  will  do  this  with  His  divine 
grace  ;  "  then,  turning  to  the  Child,  '•'  0  my  dear,  darling 

1  Act.  B.  Sumra.  Ob],  No.  11,  §  27.— Gabriel,  p.  157.  *  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  5. 

8  Act.  B.  Sumrn,  Ob].  X.  11,  §  27,  and  Ott,  *  Johu  xv-  20. 


1 74        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcscentia. 

Jesus,  deign  to  accept  me  as  Thy  slave  and  to  grant  me  Thy 
grace,  that  I  may  follow  Thee  with  all  my  strength."  The 
Divine  Child  looked  at  her  most  lovingly  and  said  :  "  My 
beloved,  I  present  you  with  My  love  :  love  Me  as  much 
as  you  desire  to  love  Me."  The  vision  then  disappeared, 
but  left  in  the  heart  of  the  consecrated  virgin  such  an 
ocean  of  delight,  such  an  overflow  of  fervent  love,  that  she 
could  hardly  stand  it.1 

One  Christmas  she  was  seriously  sick  in  bed,  suffer- 
ing severe  pain  in  every  limb.  She  felt  a  burning  desire 
to  suffer  all  these  pains  for  love  of  the  new-born  Infant,  to 
increase  His  honor  and  pleasure  ;  she  therefore  addressed 
the  petition  to  the  Mother  of  God,  that  she  would  be 
pleased  to  offer  the  sufferings  she  endured  to  the  little 
Jesus,  in  the  manner  most  pleasing  to  Him,  inasmuch  as 
an  offering  by  the  hands  of  the  Mother  would  be  incom- 
parably dearer  to  the  Infant  than  that  coming  from  a  des- 
picable hand-maiden.  After  this  beautiful  act,  the  Vir- 
gin Mother,  with  the  Infant,  appeared  to  her,  and  smiling 
graciously,  said  :  "  My  daughter,  your  sufferings  will  be 
assuaged."  She  then  put  the  Divine  Infant  into  her  arms, 
who  caressingly  said  these  words  :  "  My  child  !  your  hu- 
mility and  suffering  have  drawn  Me  to  you.  Because 
as  one  seeks  Me,  so  he  finds  Me  ;  and  he  who  seeks  Me 
shall  have  life,  and  have  it  abundantly.  I  do  not  allow 
Myself  to  be  surpassed  in  love  and  generosity.  Behold, 
then,  how  well  pleased  I  am  when  you  suffer  much  for  love 
of  Me.  Persevere  and  be  faithful  to  Me,  My  grace  will  be 
great."  Then  the  Child  returned  to  His  Mother's  arms, 
and  the  vision  ended  with  the  words  :  "'  I  am  the  Mother 
of  fair  love,  of  fear,  of  knowledge,  and  of  hope ;  I  will  al- 
ways remain  your  Mother."1 

Such  visions  as  these,  with  demonstrations  of  tender  love, 
joined  to  condescending  words,  may,  to  the  hike-warm 
Christian,  scarcely  seem  credible  ;  they  are,  however,  found 
in  the  history  of  mystk-ul  Saints  of  every  century,  as  ordi- 

1  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  J.  *  Otl,  B.  III.  p.  27X, 


Her  Fervor.  175 

nary  occurrences,  and  are  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that 
on  the  part  of  the  happy  souls  who  receive  this  sublime 
privilege,  intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  of  Heaven  is 
incomparably  more  intimate  than  that  of  ordinary  Chris- 
tians, and  on  this  account  it  is  almost  natural  that  a  con- 
descension, incomprehensible  to  us,  should  take  place  from 
on  high  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Heaven.  The 
love  and  the  trust  which  Crescentia  placed  in  her  dearly 
loved  Mother,  far  surpass  the  intensity  of  affection  by 
which  children  are  united  to  their  own  mothers  in  the  flesh. 
How,  then,  could  that  Mother-heart,  which  is  of  all  The 
Best,  not  overleap  the  bounds  of  the  usual  order  of  things 
and  bend  down  from  Heaven  to  her  beloved  child  on  earth  ? 

The  sources  of  this  biography  state  that  Crescentia  had 
very  many  other  similar  visions  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  the 
particulars  of  which  remain  unknown.  To  these  re- 
ports we  add  but  one  remark,  that  the  love  of  this  favored 
soul  to  her  heavenly  Mother  showed  itself  conspicuously, 
shortly  before  her  death.  She  had  ordered  two  silver 
crowns,  studded  with  precious  stones,  to  be  made  for  the 
picture  representing  St.  Ann  and  Mary  ;  she  was  almost 
dying  from  inexpressible  pain  when  these  two  crowns,  just 
finished,  were  brought  to  her  couch  of  death  ;  then  her  love 
for  Mary  was  so  gratified  by  the  honor  thus  shown  to  these 
Saints,  that,  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  she  was,  as  it 
were,  beside  herself  with  joy.  She  was,  however,  in  close 
communion,  not  with  the  Queen  of  Heaven  alone,  but  with 
all  of  the  household  of  God  who  dwelt  in  the  triumphant 
city  of  Jerusalem.  Her  love,  reverence,  and  devotion  to  all 
the  angels  and  Saints  were  most  extraordinary.  She 
used  to  say  :  "  Since  I  am  so  poor  myself,  and  so  devoid  of 
every  virtue,  I  go  in  spirit  from  one  class  of  Saints  to  an- 
other, like  a  poor  Lazarus,  begging  for  their  prayers,  part- 
ly for  myself,  partly  for  others/' 

She  was  specially  familiar  with  her  guardian  angel,  whom 
she  saw,  as  she  assures  us,  by  a  peculiar  spiritual  light,  al- 
ways by  her  side,  and  of  this  she  had  a  greater  certainty 


176        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

than  if  she  saw  him  with  her  bodily  eyes.  From  this  cir- 
cumstance she  had  from  childhood  upwards  ever  had  so 
sensible  a  feeling  of  reverence  from  being  in  his  presence, 
that  it  would  have  been  impossible  even  to  think  of  any- 
thing unbecoming,  much  less  to  say  or  do  such  before  him. 
From  this  resulted,  with  her,  as  with  many  other  Saints, 
that  .a  spiritual  intercourse  was  developed  between  her  and 
her  guardian  angel  which  was  as  intimate  and  full  of  lov- 
ing trust  as  only  an  exceptionally  obedient  child  can  es- 
tablish between  itself  and  its  own  father.  Her  heart  over- 
flowed in  daily  acts  of  gratitude,  veneration,  and  love  to- 
wards him ;  she  consulted  him  in  doubts  and  difficulties, 
and  endeavored  carefully  to  follow  his  advice  in  every- 
thing. As  often  as  she  went  to  Church,  she  asked  her 
guardian  angel,  and  all  the  angels  present,  to  come  to  her 
side,  to  assist  her  in  adoring  Christ  worthily;  and  when  she 
went  away,  or  retired  to  rest,  she  commissioned  this 
same  angel  to  take  her  place,  and  to  praise  and  love  her 
heavenly  Spouse  in  her  stead.  And  here  again  we  find  that 
her  devotion  and  love  were  corresponded  to  in  a  striking 
manner,  and  that  her  angel  assisted  her  in  remarkable 
ways.  He  often  appeared  to  her  in  a  visible  form,  in- 
structed her  in  the  mysteries  of  faith  and  the  ways  of  in- 
terior life,  and  told  her  how  to  mortify  her  senses  and  sup- 
press the  movements  of  passion.  While  she  was  yet  a 
child,  when  her  mother  gave  her  a  piece  of  bread,  the  an- 
gel would  at  times  appear  to  her  visibly  and  admonish  her 
thus  :  "  My  child,  for  the  love  of  your  Spouse,  do  not  eat 
that  piece  of  bread;  rather  give  it  to  a  poor  person  whom  I 
will  immediately  point  out  to  you."  '  Whenever  she  called 
on  him,  in  any  distress,  she  obtained  help  at  once,  and  af- 
ter she  had  chosen  him  as  her  monitor,  she  could  entirely 
rely  upon  him.  He  would  remind  her  in  due  time  of  every- 
thing she  had  to  do,  and  spur  her  on  to  the  doing.  Thou- 
sands of  cases  proved  that  he  helped  her  in  even  the  least 
things.  She  used,  therefore,  to  counsel  the  other  Sisters, 

»  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  4. 


Her  Fervor.  177 

when  they  complained  of  forgetf ulness,  to  pray  confidently 
to  their  guardian  angels  to  notify  them  of  their  duty  at 
the  right  time.  As  for  herself,  she  looked  on  the  help 
of  her  guardian  angel  as  a  perfectly  natural  occurrence. 

That  she  was  favored  with  frequent  visions  of  the  holy 
angels,  appears  from  the  report  already  noticed,  that  she 
for  two  years  received  Holy  Communion  from  the  hands  of 
an  angel.  The  angel  manifested  his  care  for  her  in  very 
small,  nay,  as  our  notions  would  esteem  them,  in  very  un- 
important matters.  When  employed  in  the  kitchen,  her 
feeble  strength  often  gave  out  in  lifting  heavy  burdens  ;  she 
called  on  her  guardian  angel — he  helped  her  immediately. 
This  help  she  is  said  to  have  received,  especially  when  the 
evil  spirits,  whom  God  had  at  that  time  permitted  to  exer- 
cise great  power  over  her,  placed  obstacles  in  her  way  and 
caused  her  many  vexations.  The  extinguished  fire  was  re- 
kindled, the  broken  windows  repaired,  as  soon  as  she  called 
on  her  guardian  angel.  One  of  her  novices  declared: 1  "In 
order  to  urge  us  to  adoration  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament  and 
to  make  us  comprehend  the  goodness  of  God,  Crescentia 
told  us,  in  a  spiritual  conference,  that,  once  when  she 
had  to  cook  pease  in  the  kitchen,  she  asked  her  angel  to 
attend  to  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  that  she  might  go  to 
Church  to  adore  the  Blessed  Sacrament ;  that  after  a  time 
she  had  returned,  and  seeing  the  angel  busy  at  the  fire- 
place, she  felt  herself  justified  in  returning  to  the  choir, 
which  she  did." 

She  also  honored  with  a  special  devotion  the  holy  Arch- 
angels, Michael,  Gabriel,  and  Raphael,  and  prepared  herself 
for  their  feasts  in  the  manner  we  have  already  mentioned. 
St.  Michael,  whom  she  acknowledged  and  loved  as  the  most 
glorious  defender  of  God's  honor  and  the  protector  of  the 
Church  militant,  often  appeared  to  her,  strengthening, 
consoling,  and  defending  her  against  diabolical  attacks. 
St.  Gabriel  was  her  special  intercessor  with  the  Blessed 

1  Act,  B.  Obj.  N.  11,  §  14. 


178        The  Life  of  I'cn.  Mary  Lrcscentia. 

Virgin.  When  there  was  question  of  the  conversion  of 
great  sinners,  she  used  to  send  up  her  sighs,  prayers,  and 
penitential  works,  through  the  hands  of  this  heavenly  mes- 
senger, to  the  Mother  of  mercy.  Surprising  conversions 
were  the  ordinary  results.1  The  following  narrative,  told 
also  by  Father  Ott,  is  lovely  indeed  : 

Once,  when  ,the  bell  was  rung  for  the  Angelus,  she  begged 
of  the  Redeemer  to  let  the  sound  of  this  bell  vibrate 
in  the  ears  of  all  men,  that  thus  they  might,  with  the 
angels  and  Saints,  and  especially  with  St.  Gabriel,  salute  the 
Mother  of  God,  as  the  great  Archangel  had  once  saluted  her 
in  the  name  of  the  Blessed  Trinity.  This  prayer  had 
scarcely  ascended  from  her  heart  to  Heaven,  when  the 
Archangel  appeared  to  her  and  with  an  unspeakably  sweet 
air  intoned  the  A  ve  Maria.  Then  her  soul  became  rapt  in 
ecstasy,  she  saw  the  Celestial  Court  drawn  up  in  admirable 
order  and  heard  all  the  voices  join  in  the  glorious  chorus, 
saluting  their  Queen  with  the  Are  Maria.  St.  Raphael, 
too,  sometimes  appeared  to  her  and  accompanied  her  on 
some  little  journeys  ;  he  had  also,  to  her  great  consolation, 
promised  to  accompany  her  on  her  last  journey  into  eter- 
nity. We  shall  see,  later  on,  how  he  kept  his  promise. 

We  will  relate  another  vision,  given  by  Father  Ott,  which 
is  worth  mentioning,  especially  for  religious  :  it  took  place 
on  the  Feast  of  the  Holy  Angels.  When  the  choir  began  to 
recite  the  Divine  Office  in  the  morning,  she  saw  the  guard- 
ian angel  of  every  Sister  standing  by  the  side  of  their  re- 
spective seats.  She  also  noticed  one  standing  by  a  vacant 
seat,  with  an  expression  of  great  displeasure  on  his  face. 
The  Sister  who  was  to  occupy  the  vacant  seat  came  too 
late,  from  laziness. 

In  the  Saints  she  honored  the  living  members  of  Jesus 
Christ.  When  the  annual  celebration  of  their  feasts  came 
round,  she  venerated  and  called  on  them  with  special  con- 
fidence ;  at  these  times  she  was  fond  of  recalling  their  vir- 
tues and  proposing  them  for  imitation  to  herself  and  Sisters. 

>  Ott.  B.  III.  C.  4. 


Her  Fervor.  179 

She  had  a  special  veneration  for  St.  Joseph,  the  foster- 
father  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  had  an  exceedingly  great  confi- 
dence in  him,  and  asserted  that  she  had  received  the 
greatest  favors  from  God,  by  means  of  his  intercession,1 
particularly  in  temporal  affairs. 

The  grandparents  of  the  Eedeemer,  St.  Joachim  and 
St.  Anna,  were  also  her  chosen  patrons.  From  her  infancy 
she  had  endeavored  to  obtain,  through  their  intercession,  a 
perfect  love  for  Jesus  and  for  Mary.  The  pictures  of  both, 
beautifully  ornamented,  she  exposed  for  veneration,  both  in 
the  Church  and  in  the  cloister.  She  greatly  regretted  that 
St.  Joachim  was  so  little  honored  in  the  Church,  and  did 
not  rest  until,  by  negotiations  with  noble  and  princely 
persons,  she  sent  a  petition  to  the  Holy  See  that  the 
feast  of  St.  Joachim  should  be  solemnly  celebrated 
throughout  the  whole  Church.  Her  joy  was  great  when 
Clement  XII.  granted  this  I'equest  on  October  3d,  A.  D. 
1738,  and  directed  that  it  should  be  celebrated  oft  the  Sun- 
day within  the  octave  of  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  as  a  feast  of  duplex  majus,  in  the  universal  Church.2 

Besides  this,  she  had  an  intimate  reverence  for  St.  John 
the  Baptist  and  for  all  the  Apostles,  particularly  for  the 
relatives  of  Christ,  St.  John  the  Evangelist  and  St.  Judas 
Thaddaeus  ;  the  latter  for  the  very  tender  reason  that  on 
account  of  his  name  Judas,  he  was  less  likely  to  be  ven- 
erated. 

Other  personal  patrons  of  hers  were  St.  Mary  Magdalen, 
St.  Dismas,  St.  Crescentia,  and  St.  Barbara ;  while  among 
the  Saints  of  recent  date,  St.  John  Nepomucene  figured 
as  the  patron  of  her  beloved  silence.  Then  she  venerated 
St.  Ignatius  Loyola,  St.  Francis  Xavier,  St.  Aloysius, 
and  St.  Stanislaus  Kostka,  for  their  innocence  and  their 
great  love  of  God  ;  St.  Theresa  and  all  holy  martyrs,  as 
also  all  the  Saints  of  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  But,  above 


1  Gabriel,  p.  157. 

2  Note  by  translator :    It  is  now  a  feast  of  Duplex  Secundce  Classis,  by  order 
of  Leo  XIII. 


180        The  Life  of  l:en.  Alary  Crescentia. 

all,  she  honored  the  blessed  Fathers,  St.  Francis  and  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua,  who  also  conferred  most  surprising 
favors  upon  her. 

She  daily  practised  particular  devotions  to  St.  Francis, 
at  which  she  held  familiar  converse  with  him,  such  as  a 
beloved  daughter  might  hold  with  her  father.  His  feast, 
October  4th,  she  anticipated  by  at  least  a  fervent  novena 
and  appropriate  exercises  of  the  virtues  of  poverty,  humil- 
ity, and  charity.  She  had  many  visions  of  this  Saint. 
Father  Ott '  relates  that  once,  on  the  vigil  of  his  feast,  she 
had  honored  the  "  burning  Seraph,"  as  she  called  him,  by 
many  hundred  acts  of  love,  and  thanked  him  for  having 
adopted  her  as  one  of  his  children.  On  the  feast-day  the 
Saviour  showed  her,  after  Communion,  the  holy  Father 
Francis,  with  many  arrows,  which  were  explained  to  her  as 
symbols  of  the  holy  exercise  performed  by  her  on  the  pre- 
vious day  ;  at  the  same  time  the  Saint  took  her  anew,  as 
his  dear  child,  under  his  paternal  care. 

She  was  very  fond  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and  invoked 
his  aid  especially  for  the  conversion  of  sinners.  In  such 
cases  she  reminded  him  that  he  is  invoked  by  all  Christen- 
dom as  the  patron  to  restore  lost  articles,  and  that  where 
grace,  the  greatest  of  all  things,  is  lost,  his  aid  in  this 
is  the  most  requisite  of  all.  How  this  Saint  accom- 
panied her  to  the  holy  shrine  at  Lechsfeld,  and  how  he 
cured  her  of  a  mortal  sickness,  has  already  been  related. 

As  Father  Ott  says,  it  would  be  impossible  to  give  the 
full  particulars  of  all  her  marvellous  intercourse  with  the 
'Saints  of  the  triumphant  Church.  From  this  same  Father 
Ott,a  we  will,  however,  add  some  characteristics,  which 
show  at  one  and  the  same  time  her  great  simplicity  and 
confidence : 

During  several  days  she  had  at  one  time  been  oppressed 
by  bodily  and  spiritual  sufferings.  St.  Bernardino,  whom 
she  specially  honored  among  the  Saints,  in  the  third  place 
of  her  Order,  then  appeared  to  her;  in  child-like  simplicity 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  5.         *  Ott,  B.  HI.  C.  4. 


Her  Fervor.  \  8 1 

she  addressed  this  complaint  to  him:  "  My  holy  Bernardine, 
are  you  come  at  last  ?  Where  were  all  of  you  staying  so 
long  ?  "  Instead  of  replying,  the  Saint  cured  her  at  once 
and  filled  her  soul  with  joy  and  consolation. 

As  the  servant  of  God  was  so  sorely  oppressed  and  was 
forsaken  by  every  one  during  the  first  years  of  her  religious 
life,  while  she  was  at  the  same  time  tormented  by  scruples 
and  anxieties,  without  being  able  to  obtain  help  from  her 
father  confessor,  she  earnestly  besought  God  for  a  spirit- 
ual director.  St.  Ignatius  then  appeared  to  her,  instructed 
her  in  different  matters,  admonished  her  to  walk  heroically 
on  the  way  of  the  cross,  and  also  promised  that  God  would 
help  her,  and  that  he  himself  would  not  forsake  her  in 
these  interior  afflictions.  True  to  his  promise,  this  Saint 
appeared  to  her  at  other  times  when  she  was  grievously 
tormented  by  exterior  causes,  and  restored  to  her  interior 
serenity  and  security. 

She  invoked  St.  Francis  Xavier  more  particularly  for  the 
conversion  of  the  heathen  and  of  heretics.  Father  Ott 
says  that  the  Saint,  at  times,  showed  her  in  a  vision  the 
fruit  that  her  prayers  and  penitential  works  had  produced 
among  the  heathens  in  Asia  and  America.  Sometimes  she 
appeared  unusually  cheerful ;  when  the  Superioress,  Mother 
Johanna,  inquired  the  reason,  she  replied  modestly  and 
abashed  :  "  My  dear  St.  Xavier  was  with  me,  and  told  me 
that  many  unbelievers  had  been  converted  to  the  Catholic 
Church.  Therefore,  I  rejoice." 

St.  Aloysius,  who  was  so  dear  to  her,  l  is  said  to  have 
helped  her  at  her  work  at  times,  as  her  guardian  angel  had 
done.  Once  she  had  to  start  a  fire  in  the  large  stove  in 
the  visitors'  room,  and  her  feeble  strength  was  unable  to  lift 
some  heavy  blocks  of  wood  to  put  them  into  the  stove  ;  she 
called  out :  "  My  holy  Aloysius,  do  help  me  !  "  At  once 
he  was  there,  visible,  and  pushed  the  wood  into  the  stove 
with  the  fire-tongs.  The  tongs  are  still  kept  as  a  relic,  in 
memory  of  this  event. 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Obj.  N*.  11,  §  5.— Ott   B.  III.  C.  4. 


1 82        The  Life  of  I'm.  Mary  Crcsccntia. 

The  wise  of  this  world  will  shrug  their  shoulders  and 
laugh  at  this  naive  narrative  ;  but  it  is  written  :  "  I 
will  destroy  the  wisdom  of  the  wise,  and  the  prudence  of 
the  prudent  I  will  reject," '  and  "  The  foolish  things  of  the 
world  hath  God  chosen  that  he  may  confound  the  wise."1 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that,  according  to  the 
enlightened  spirit  of  the  Catholic  Church,  she  held  in  rev- 
erence, and  admonished  her  Sisters  to  a  similar  reverence, 
all  that  is  held  sacred  or  that  appertains  to  the  Saints  : 
such  as  relics,  holy  pictures,  consecrated  articles,  and  also 
the  ceremonies  and  usages  of  the  Church.  She  went  so  far 
as  to  collect  the  drops  of  holy  water  spilled  on  the  ground 
by  the  Sisters,  to  save  them  from  profanation.' 

Since  God  is  not  only  sanctity  itself,  but  also  the  Source 
of  all  sanctity  ;  since  He  as  Law-giver  demands  sanctity  of 
His  rational  creatures  :  "Be  ye  holy,  because  I  am  holy," 4 
and  as  Sanctifier,  liberally  imparts  this  sanctity  by  His 
Spirit  ;  and  since  He  further  commands  that  we  should 
bestow  the  highest  adoration  on  Himself  as  the  original 
Source  of  all  sanctity ;  it  follows,  of  itself,  that  the  sanc- 
tity of  the  Saints,  which  flows  like  a  little  rivulet  from  the 
original  Source  of  divine  grace,  demands  from  us  a  tribute 
of  veneration  which  of  itself  flows  back  to  God,  even  as 
created  sanctity  comes  from  God  and  returns  to  Him.  And 
as  he  who  praises  the  rays  of  the  sun  does  not  lessen  the 
honor  of  the  sun  itself,  but  rather  increases  it,  even  as  a 
child  withdraws  no  love  from  its  mother  by  contemplating 
her  picture,  in  like  manner  the  veneration  of  the  Saints  by 
the  Catholic  Church  deprives  God  of  no  honor  due  to 
Him.  On  the  contrary,  He  is  doubly  honored  thereby, 
being  honored  as  sanctity  itself  and  as  the  Author  of  sanc- 
tity in  His  creatures. 

Therefore,  0  Christian,  practise  both  injunctions  of  the 
Apostle  :  "To  the  only  God  be  honor  and  glory  :  "  *  be- 
cause supreme  adoration  belongs  to  Him  alone  ;  and  on  the 

1  I.  Cor.  1. 19.  *  Ibid.  87.  « Summ.  N.  12, 1 1ST. 

«  Levlt.  xl.  44.  •  Tim.   1. 17. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.         183 

other  hand,  "  Render,  therefore,  to  all  men  their  dues.  .  . 
.  .  honor  to  whom  honor  (is  due)."1  But  next  to  God, 
among  mere  creatures,  the  highest  honor  is  due  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  then  to  all  the  citizens  of  Heaven, 
because  on  them  "  resteth  that  which  is  of  the  honor, 
glory,  and  power  of  God  and  that  which  is  His  Spirit."3 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Great  Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation  which 
God  bestowed  on  Ven.  Mother  Crescentia. 

E  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not  to  faint."' 
This  injunction  of  our  Lord  has,  perhaps,  been 
carried  out  by  few,  in  this  miserable  earth-life, 
in  the  degree  and  with  that  perseverance  with  which  Cres- 
centia practised  it.  We  know  already,  from  what  has 
been  said,  that  her  short  sleep  scarcely  interrupted  her 
prayer,  and  that  she  considered  every  moment  in  which  she 
lost  sight  of  God  as  an  irreparable  loss,  nay,  as  a  misfor- 
tune to  be  bitterly  bewailed  as  a  crime. 

From  this  we  may  conclude  that  the  Lord  had  granted 
her  a  sublimer  mode  of  praying  and  meditating  than  is 
practised  by  ordinary  Christians  ;  in  fact,  even  as  a  child, 
she  was  already  elevated  to  an  extraordinary  state  of  con- 
templative prayer,  although  we  do  not  know  the  exact 
time  at  which  it  occurred.  It  is  certain  that  at  a  later 
period  she  was  not  obliged  to  follow  the  usual  rules  for 
meditation  and  to  make  use  in  various  ways  of  the  differ- 
ent faculties  of  the  soul  in  order  to  seek  God  :  a  higher 
light  drew  the  powers  of  the  soul  towards  the  interior, 
into  the  presence  of  the  Highest  Good  :  the  spirit,  pene- 
trated by  the  light  of  faith  and  elevated  by  the  gifts  of 

1  Rom.  xlll.  7.  »  I.  Peter  Iv,  14,  3  Luke  xvlil.  1, 


184        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcsccntia. 

the  Holy  Ghost,  knew,  without  labor  and  toilsome  inquiry, 
the  things  of  Heaven  in  a  manner  far  more  profound  than 
the  mere  human  idea  can  comprehend  ;  the  will,  captured 
by  astonishment  and  love,  reposed  quietly  in  God.  Sister 
M.  Gabriel  says:'  "  As  soon  as  she  wished  to  be  recol- 
lected, she  was  drawn  quite  out  of  herself,  and  by  the  in- 
finite  power  and  goodness  of  God,  was  carried  upwards  by 
the  straight  road,  and  either  immersed  in  the  infinite  mys- 
tery of  the  ever-blessed  Trinity,  or  in  the  rocky  clefts  of 
the  most  sacred  wounds  of  Christ,  and  plunged  therein  so 
deeply  that  she  believed  herself,  from  very  vehemence  of 
love,  to  be  transported  out  of  herself  and  changed  into  an- 
other being.  When  she  came  to  herself  again,  all  creation 
seemed  something  foreign  to  her.  At  prayer  there  was  no 
need  of  her  making  long  preparation,  no  reflection  was 
necessary  ;  she  grasped  the  truth  at  once,  gazing  alternate- 
ly at  her  own  nothingness  and  at  the  fathomless  abyss  of 
the  Godhead.  She  became  constantly  more  and  more 
humble." 

In  this  way  her  prayer  was,  as  a  rule,  not  a  hard  seeking 
or  a  painful  knocking,  but  a  marvellous  vision,  a  loving 
attention,  a  joyous  surrender  of  herself  to  God,  an  enjoy- 
ment of  His  presence,  a  pouring  forth  and  taking  up  of 
her  heart  which  she  then  totally  plunged  into  God,  the 
Ocean  of  everything  good.  We  have  no  report  of  the 
order  she  went  through  in  climbing  the  various  degrees  of 
the  higher  stages  of  prayer;  we  only  know  that  she  attained 
the  highest  points  of  contemplation.  She  was  silent  about 
these  ;  only  once,  in  obedience,  she  made  the  general  re- 
mark, that  ut  the  beginning  of  prayer  her  will  and  her  in- 
tellect were  attracted  by  a  sweet  power  and  became  as  if 
lost  in  God.  It  was  God  who  worked  within  her;  she  her- 
self really  did  nothing.  Whoever  observed  her  could  not 
fail  to  notice  that  this  was  true.  She  had  scarcely  knelt 
down,  ere  her  face  betrayed  that  her  soul  had  left  the  sen- 
sible world  and  had  interiorly  turned  itself  towards  Heav- 

1  Gabriel,  p.  67. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.        185 

en  ;  she  then  lived  more  in  God,  whom  she  loved,  than  in 
her  mortal  body,  which  remained  motionless  as  a  statue. 
She  was  so  occupied  with  God  that  she  neither  saw  nor 
heard  anything,  and  no  disturbance  near  or  around  her 
disquieted  her  in  the  least.  This  state  of  recollection  often 
became  a  real  ecstasy ;  then  no  words  addressed  to  her, 
no  shaking  had  any  effect  on  her  ;  obedience  alone  re- 
called her  to  herself.  She  was  unable  to  prevent  or  to  put 
an  end  to  these  states.  They  occurred  almost  regularly  af- 
ter Holy  Communion  ;  but  also  outside  of  the  Church, 
when  a  word,  a  hymn,  or  a  prayer  affected  her  mind  by 
reminding  her  of  a  mystery  of  faith.  Nay,  these  states  of 
mind  happened  so  often  that  the  Sisters  ceased  to  pay  at- 
tention to  them,  although  every  one  Avitnessing  her  posi- 
tion and  the  expression  of  her  countenance  was  filled  with 
devotion  and  shuddered  with  holy  awe.  Eye-witnesses, 
who  had  often  watched  her,  describe  her  outward  appear- 
ance during  these  ecstasies  as  follows  : ' 

"  Her  position  was  then  very  becoming  :  she  was  a  strik- 
ing image  of  profound  devotion  ;  her  face  wore  an  expres- 
sion of  heavenly  radiance  ;  her  eyes  were  half  closed  and 
motionless  ;  her  hands  were  hid  under  the  scapular  ;  her 
body  kneeling  without  movement,  and  at  times  shedding  a 
sweet  perfume  around  her/' 

The  following  narrative,  taken  from  the  Acts  of  her 
Beatification,  confirms  and  illustrates  the  foregoing  state- 
ments : " 

Sister  M.  Joseph  Anger,  who  had  but  just  been  received 
in  the  convent,  and  had  not  seen  the  servant  of  God  in  this 
state,  relates  :  "  One  day,  Mother  M.  Johanna  Altweger 
sent  me  to  the  choir,  where  Crescentia  was  making  her 
thanksgiving  after  Communion,  to  call  her,  as  a  certain 
gentleman  wished  to  see  her.  When  I  got  to  her  prie-dieu 
in  the  choir,  I  found  her  kneeling,  stiff  and  immovable,  so 
that  I  was  quite  frightened.  Yet,  I  recovered  myself  and 
said  :  '  Sister  Crescentia,  please  come  down  ;  somebody 
1  Summ.  19,  S  90.  »  Summ.  N.  9,  8  566. 


1 86        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

wants  you.'  I  received  no  answer  and  could  not  perceive 
any  sign  of  life  in  her.  Then  I  became  thoroughly 
alarmed,  ran  with  all  speed  to  the  Mother  and  said :  *  Cres- 
centia  is  dead  at  her  kneeling-desk.'  Mother  M.  Johan- 
na, however,  bade  me  return  and  tell  her  that  the  Mother 
Superior  commanded  her  to  come.  I  had  scarcely  uttered 
the  words  'Venerable  Mother,'  than  she  at  once  recovered 
consciousness,  arose  and  went  to  her.  In  this  manner, 
after  Holy  Communion,  Crescentia  was  always  spiritually 
elevated  to  God,  as  long  as  I  lived  with  her  in  the  con- 
vent." 

According  to  the  statements  of  other  Sisters,  these  ecsta- 
sies often  lasted  for  several  hours,  even  until  obedience  re- 
called her  to  herself.  Yet,  it  requires  but  little  acquaint- 
ance with  the  interior  life  to  feel  assured  that  such  sensible 
consolations  and  fulness  of  light  did  not  always  accompany 
her  prayer.  For  if  the  interior  life  consists  in  our  mysti- 
cally assimilating  the  life  of  Christ  in  ourselves,  and  per- 
mitting it  to  develop  itself  within,  then  must  we  also  par- 
take of  the  death  of  Christ,  as  St.  Paul  emphatically  assures 
us :  "If  we  have  been  planted  together  in  the  likeness  of 
His  death,  we  shall  be  also  in  the  likeness  of  His  resurrec- 
tion." Yes,  according  to  the  teaching  of  the  masters  of 
spiritual  life,  participation  in  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
Christ,  as  also  in  His  resurrection,  repeats  itself  in  the 
interior  life  ;  or,  in  plainer  words,  a  period  of  painful  pro- 
bation and  purification  of  the  spirit,  precedes  every  or 
nearly  every  higher  degree  of  enlightenment  and  union. 
Thus  Crescentia  also  had  her  hours,  days,  and  years  of 
painful  abandonment  of  the  spirit,  so  absolute,  that  only 
the  dim  light  of  faith  could  point  out  to  her  the  direct 
and  certain  path. 

But  she  loved  and  sought  God  not  less  in  the  darkness 

than  in  the  light,  in  poverty  than  in  riches,  on  Mount 

Calvary  equally    as  on    Mount  Thabor  :    it  even   seemed 

that  in  her  bereavement  her  zeal  and  fidelity  \\vre  doubled. 

1  Rom.  vl.  6. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.         187 

She  herself  describes  this  state  after  she  had  borne  it  for 
almost  four  years.1  "Oh,  for  very  torment  have  I  been 
seeking  among  all  creatures,  and  asking  them,  beseeching 
them  dolefully,  if  they  knew  where  He  could  be,  whom  my 
soul  loveth  !  How  often  have  I  wandered  in  spirit  with 
St.  Mary  Magdalen  in  the  streets  and  gardens,  and  cried 
out  :  Tell  me  where  you  have  laid  Him  and  I  will  get  Him, 
else  I  must  die  of  love  and  desire  !  But  the  more  I  sought 
Him  the  further  was  He  from  me  ;  it  seemed  to  me  not 
otherwise  than  that  I  was  in  a  dark  wilderness.  Oh  !  no 
one  can  imagine  what  interior  dereliction  is.  One  would 
run  through  a  thousand  naked  swords,  and  sacrifice  one's 
life  a  thousand  times,  if  only  one  could  obtain  what  is  so 
earnestly  sought  for.  But  I  sought  and  found  Him  not." 

She  often  used  the  words  :  "1  thirst  for  the  strong  and 
living  God  ;  "  or,  turning  to  creatures,  she  cried  out  :  "  0 
all  of  you,  help  me  to  bemoan  the  absence  of  my  Beloved, 
or  rather  the  cause  of  His  absence — my  sins  ! "  Yet,  even 
then,  her  soul  was  already  so  disengaged  from  all  self-love, 
that  had  she  had  the  choice,  she  would  have  preferred  this 
incomparably  painful  state  of  abandonment  to  the  delights 
of  Thabor.  She  frequently  said  so  herself.  She  also  gives 
expression  to  similar  exalted  sentiments  in  the  resolutions 
written  down  in  1723  : "  "  0  my  glorious  Eedeemer!  Thou 
sayest :  I  am  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life.  In  Thy  res- 
urrection Thou  hast  given  me  a  new  life.  Before  this,  my 
heart  was  a  true  Limbo  of  dryness  and  dereliction.  But 
since  Thou  hast  come  to  me  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  Thou 
hast  dispelled  all  darkness  and  made  me  rise  again  to  Thee. 
Thus  I  have  a  joyous  Easter,  thus  my  soul  can  sing,  Alle- 
luia. But,  my  God,  is  this  to  love  perfectly  ?  No  ! 
That,  therefore,  I  may  love  Thee  in  future,  I  beseech  Thee 
to  grant  me  the  grace,  not  only  to  preserve  an  equal  tran- 
quillity of  mind,  in  consolation  as  in  dereliction,  but  to  re- 
joice alike  in  both." 

The  following  remarkable  occurrence,  which  happened 

1  Ott,  B.  III.  0. 13.  *  Kolb,  p.  26. 


1 88        The  Life  of  Vcn.  .}fary  Cresccntia. 

during  that  four  years'  abandonment,  is  well  attested  : ' 
Once,  when  with  ardent  desire  she  sought  her  Spouse  in  her 
own  cell,  and  with  the  most  dolorous  expressions  adjured 
all  creatures  to  tell  her  if  they  had  seen  Him  after  whom 
her  soul  languished,  her  guardian  angel  appeared  to  her 
and  bade  her  look  through  the  window.  She  hastened  to 
the  window  and  on  the  branches  of  a  pear-tree  standing 
near  the  water-basin  in  the  yard,  she  saw  the  dearly  loved 
Spouse  of  her  soul,  sitting  quietly  and  motionless,  although 
the  tree  was  very  violently  agitated  by  the  wind,  and  the 
branches  which  seemed  to  bear  Him  were  tossed  to  and  fro. 
Full  of  joy  at  this  sight,  the  servant  of  God  exclaimed  : 
"  My  Saviour,  what  art  Thou  doing  there  ?  Come  to  my 
heart  and  rest."  The  Lord  answered  :  "My  daughter, as 
I  remain  in  peace  on  this  tree,  however  violently  it  may  be 
agitated,  even  so  I  rest  in  thy  heart :  thou  mayest  think 
there  is  a  great  storm  there,  but  I  am  in  the  midst,  all  the 
same."  The  vision  then  vanished,  leaving  great  consolation 
and  delight  in  her  soul  ;  this  lasted,  however,  only  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  and  then  the  previous  dereliction  returned.' 

When  she  was  not  in  a  state  of  dereliction  she  very  often 
had  supernatural  communications,  revelations,  words  ad- 
dressed to  her,  and  visions  ;  indeed,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  her  confessors,  she  had  visitations  of  every  kind 
that  occurred  to  other  mystical  Saints.  The  state  of  dere- 
liction took  place  very  often,  but  except  during  the  four 
years  mentioned  before,  it  did  not  last  long. 

We  here  remind  the  reader  that  the  masters  of  mystic 
theology  distinguish  three  kinds  of  visions,  namely  : 
First,  bodily,  that  is,  seen,  heard,  or  felt,  as  when  our  Sav- 
iour appeared  to  His  Apostles  after  His  resurrection,  which 
happened  in  reality.  Secondly,  imaginary,  when  the 
force  of  imagination  pictures  divine  things  and  represents 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Ob].  N.  11,  §  14  and  31. 

a  This  vision  was  made  known  to  several  Sisters,  and  also  to  outsiders,  by  the 
Mother  Superior  (Sister  Johanna).  After  the  death  of  Crescentia,  many  visitors 
wished  to  Ret  a  leaf  of  the  tree  as  a  remembrance  of  the  vision.  Several  sick  per- 
sons used  these  lc,avos  whfii  imlvcrixi-d.  ml. trcssiiii;  :i  prayer  to  civsc  .-nlhi.  Their 
prayers  were  heard  and  many  minn-lrs  v.,-iv  wrought. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.         189 

them  as  real  ;  this  is  easily  subject  to  deception.  Thirdly, 
intellectual,  whereby  the  soul  is  enabled  to  perceive  by  an 
extraordinary  light  the  highest  conceptions  of  divine  ob- 
jects, more  after  the  manner  of  angels  than  of  men.  These 
last  are  by  far  the  most  exalted  and  the  most  efficacious  ; 
and  when  they  are  purely  intellectual  they  are  not  exposed  to 
deception.  These  last  the  servant  of  God  had  frequently. 

What  were  her  governing  principles  with  regard  to  such 
revelations  and  visions  we  shall  learn  best  from  her  own 
words.1  Following  up  the  words  "  do  not  fear  "  spoken  by 
the  angel  to  the  holy  women  on  the  day  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, she  continues  :  "I,  too,  will  lay  aside  that  excessive 
fear  at  visions  which  is  a  hindrance  to  me,  and  keep  my- 
self between  the  love  and  fear  of  God  ;  I  will  confide  in 
God,  and  while  doing  so,  I  will  pay  good  attention  as  to 
whether  these  visions  are  conducive  to  or  a  hindrance  to 
my  last  aim  and  end.  Especially  will  I  communicate  them 
to  my  confessor,  though  it  may  be  hard  for  me." 

The  objects  which  entered  within  the  circle  of  her  vis- 
ion in  a  supernatural  manner  are  of  various  descriptions. 
Sometimes  souls  from  purgatory  appeared  to  her,  either  to 
ask  for  help  or  to  return  thanks  for  help  received.  Some- 
times angels  and  Saints,  and  then  again  the  Mother  of  God 
with  the  Divine  Infant ;  now,  it  was  Christ,  either  suffer- 
ing or  in  glory ;  and  often  she  had  visions  of  or  communi- 
cations from  the  Godhead,  especially  the  Blessed  Trinity, 
in  a  purely  intellectual  manner.  To  this  mystery  she  had 
an  incredible  devotion  ;  every  word  concerning  it,  that  she 
heard  or  spoke,  was  accompanied  with  strong  emotions  of 
mind  and  heart,  frequently  occasioning  ecstasy.  In  later 
years  this  mystery  was  the  usual  subject  of  her  contempla- 
tion ;  her  mind  was  herein  lost  in  wonder  and  adoration,  in 
praise  and  thanksgiving,  with  a  loving  offering  up  of  her- 
self, and  human  words  cannot  express  what  sublime  illumi- 
nations, and  what  fulness  of  heavenly  joys  were  then  im- 
parted to  her. 

1   Roll),  p.  II. 


190        The  Life  of  Ven.  Jl/ary  Crescentia. 

Once,  on  the  Feast  of  the  Blessed  Trinity,1  she  offered,  in 
a  vision,  her  intellect  to  the  omnipotence  of  the  Father, 
that  it  might  be  enabled  more  clearly  to  comprehend  the 
immensity  of  the  Divine  Majesty  and  her  own  nothingness; 
to  the  wisdom  of  the  Son  she  donated  her  own  will,  to  be 
consecrated  for  the  most  perfect  imitation  of  the  divine 
perfections ;  to  the  goodness  of  the  Holy  Ghost  she  of- 
fered her  memory  for  an  uninterrupted  remembrance,  love, 
and  praise  of  the  Most  High  Godhead.  She  had  scarcely 
laid  this  offering  of  her  faculties  on  the  divine  altar,  with 
great  affection,  than  her  soul  heard  these  words  distinctly  : 
"  We  three  are  one."  Then  she  exclaimed  in  an  ecstasy 
of  holy  love  :  "  0  most  Holy  Trinity,  I  give  Thee  Thy- 
self and  all  Thy  perfections  !  "  Thereupon  she  heard  the 
angels  sing  :  "  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  God  of 
Hosts,"  and  her  soul  was  immersed  in  an  ocean  of  bliss,  so 
that  she  believed  it  must  part  from  the  body. 

One  day,'  after  Holy  Communion,  her  ecstasy  had  lasted 
unusually  long.  Mother  Johanna  asked  her  afterwards 
what  had  been  communicated  to  her.  In  obedience,  she 
replied  that  the  Redeemer  had  appeared  to  her,  and  had 
held  a  very  interesting  conference  with  her.  "  He  said  :  '  I 
am  the  good  Shepherd,  and  I  give  My  life  for  My  sheep/ 
I  replied  :  *  Yes,  my  Beloved,  Thou  art  the  good  Shep- 
herd, and  the  Lamb  of  God  ;  Thou  whom  I  have  just  re- 
ceived under  the  appearance  of  bread.'  Then  I  offered  this, 
my  good  Shepherd  and  the  Lamb  of  God,  for  myself  and 
for  all  men,  to  the  heavenly  Father  for  His  eternal  praise 
and  complacency,  even  as  He  had  offered  Himself  to  the 
same  Father  when  He  gave  His  blood  and  life  for  His  lost 
sheep.  The  heavenly  Father  accepted  this  offering  with 
the  greatest  satisfaction  ;  the  Redeemer  turned  to  me  with 
a  gracious  love,  uttering  these  blessed  words  :  '  You  are 
My  dear  little  sheep,  and  will  be  so  throughout  eternity/ 
He  then  pointed  out  to  me  a  very  rich  and  fertile  pasture, 
which  was,  nevertheless,  filled  with  thistles  and  thorns,  and 
1  ott,  B.  in.  c.  i.  a  ott,  B.  in.  c.  3. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.        191 

said  to  me  :  '  Do  you  see  this  pasture  ?  It  is  indeed  full  of 
thorns,  yet  it  is  very  good,  nay,  the  very  best  ;  for  there 
My  love  feeds  you,  with  many  sufferings  leads  you  to  My- 
self, and  renders  you  conformable  to  Me.  During  My  own 
life,  suffering  was  My  daily  portion  ;  I  ordain  the  same  for 
you,  because  you  are  My  darling  little  sheep.  I  will  always 
assist  you  with  My  grace,  and  after  this  life  will  feed  you 
with  inexpressible  joys  and  quench  your  thirst  from  the 
fountain  of  delight.  Increase  in  My  love,  walk  in  the  way 
of  the  cross,  until  you  come  to  Me  in  My  kingdom. "; 

Another  vision  is  so  instructive  and  consoling  that  we 
must  not  omit  it  : ' 

The  Saviour  appeared  to  her,  surrounded  by  angels,  with 
an  expression  of  great  joy.  In  humble  confidence,  she  in- 
quired the  reason  of  this.  The  Lord  replied  :  "  I  appear 
to  you  in  this  manner,  because  yesterday,  again,  you  spoke 
so  expressively  to  your  Sisters  about  My  divine  per- 
fections and  the  many  gifts  and  graces  I  bestow  upon 
mankind.  By  this  discourse  you  have  caused  them  to  rec- 
ognize and  set  a  high  value  upon  My  mercy ;  to  admire 
and  venerate  My  goodness,  My  love,  and  My  generosity;  it  is 
a  great  joy  to  Me  when  people  recognize  what  is  good,  and 
strive  after  it ;  it  provides  the  occasion  for  Me  to  confer 
on  them  more  abundant  mercy.  I  am  always  seeking  their 
happiness  alone.  '  Go,  therefore,  and  tell  the  children  of 
men  how  good  I  am.'  '• 

Then  her  soul  poured  itself  forth  in  praise  and  thanks- 
giving and  she  besought  the  Lord  that  He  would  Himself 
fill  the  hearts  of  all  men  with  the  knowledge  of  His  good- 
ness, that  the  current  of  His  grace  might  flow  without  any 
obstacle  being  in  the  way.  Then  the  Lord  gave  her  His 
blessing  and  concluded  with  the  words  :  "  My  child, 
where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  My  name,  there 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  them." 

On  New  Year's  day,  Crescentia  2  had,  according  to  her 
wont,  made  a  New  Year's  gift  of  herself  to  the  Lord,  offer- 
1  ott.  B.  in.  c.  3.  2  ott,  B.  ii.  c.  3. 


1 92        The  Life  of  Vcn.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

ing  herself  with  extraordinary  fervor  as  a  holocaust,  to  be 
immolated  according  to  the  divine  will,  and  consumed  in 
the  holy  fire  of  suffering,  of  crosses,  and  of  love.  She  fell 
into  an  ecstasy,  and  heard  from  the  lips  of  Christ  these 
words  :  "  This  thine  offering  pleases  Me  ;  hut  thou  must 
know  that  I  do  not  allow  Myself  to  be  surpassed  in  love." 
Then  showing  her  His  opened  heart,  He  said  :  "  Behold 
My  heart,  laid  open  by  love  ;  I  give  it  thee  as  a  habita- 
tion, a  security,  and  an  asylum  against  all  thine  enemies." 
This  vision  produced  incredible  and  indescribable  emotions 
in  the  heart  of  the  virgin  ;  the  flame  of  love  increased  to  an 
almost  intolerable  degree  the  desire  to  suffer  crosses  and 
even  to  die  for  her  Beloved. 

As  we  have  said  so  much  of  her  ecstasies  and  visions,  we 
cannot  forbear  mentioning  here,  that  according  to  the  doc- 
trine of  sound  mystical  theology,  perfection  by  no  means 
consists  in  such  apparitions,  nor  is  the  highest  and  most 
precious  degree  of  supernatural  enlightenment  to  be  sought 
therein.  Accordingly,  the  servant  of  Christ  experienced 
the  generosity  of  her  Spouse  when  such  extraordinary 
illuminations  did  not  take  place.  She  had  always,  at  her 
usual  prayers  and  at  work,. a  bright  light  Avithinher,  which 
quietly  and  peacefully  placed  her  spirit  before  the  face  of 
God,  and,  as  it  were,  kept  it  there. 

The  veil  of  the  body  which  hides  from  our  eyes  the  world 
of  light  which  surrounds  us,  was  either  half-raised  or  quite 
transparent  to  her.  A  witness  in  the  Acts  thus  expressed 
f  himself  on  this  point: '  "  God  was  to  her  as  infinite  light,  in 
which  she  lived,  by  which  she  was  surrounded,  wherever 
she  was  and  whatever  she  was  doing."  By  virtue  of  this 
light  she  could,  without  any  exertion,  direct  the  higher  eye 
of  her  mind  to  God,  dwelling  in  the  interior  depths  of  her 
soul,  and  continuing  in  an  uninterrupted  intercourse  of  love 
with  Him,  could  enjoy  Him  and  repose  in  Him.  That 
mysterious  separation  of  the  interior  and  exterior  being,  of 
which  several  masters  of  the  spiritual  life  make  mention, 

1  Summ.  N.  9,  {  380. 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.         193 

had  taken  place  in  her.  The  higher  part  of  the  soul,  peace- 
fully attracted  by  the  sensible  presence  of  her  Highest 
Good,  yielded  itself  absolutely  to  the  sway  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
working  within  and  powerfully  exciting  her  will  to  the 
most  sublime  acts  of  love,  to  the  sweet  surrender  of  her 
whole  being  to  God,  and  to  repose  in  Him.  This  did  not 
prevent  her  from  holding  converse  with  people  of  the  out- 
ward world,  or  from  attending  to  her  duties.  Whatever 
touched  her  soul  exteriorly  was  but  as  a  passing  shadow, 
which  could  in  no  way  darken  the  fulness  of  the  light 
in  the  interior  of  her  soul.  This  grace,  which  is  as  rare 
as  it  is  precious,  is  a  participation  in  the  perfections  of 
the  holy  angels,  who,  as  St.  Bonaventure  says,  1  "  hasten 
within  God,  whithersoever  they  are  sent." 

We  can  therefore  say,  that  in  consequence  of  this  union 
with  God,  and  this  surrender  of  her  being,  which  we  have 
described,  that  she  became,  in  word  and  act,  more  passive 
than  active,  that  she  was  impelled  by  the  spirit  of  God 
rather  than  self-acting  and  resolving.  And  by  this  fact, 
the  child  of  God  had  reached  its  perfection,  and  in  the  full- 
est sense  realized  St.  Paul's  meaning  when  he  says  :  "  Who- 
soever are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of 
God."8  This  influence  of  divine  grace  went  so  far  as  act- 
ually, in  important  cases,  to  lay  the  words  on  her  tongue. 
It  had  always  been  her  practice  to  weigh  her  words  before 
she  spoke  ;  later  on,  it  frequently  happened  that  she  said 
something  different  from  what  she  had  intended.  This 
often  happened  when  she  was  giving  instruction  to  the 
novices,  at  which  times  she  sometimes  remained  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  in  an  ecstatic  state,  speaking  then  such 
marvellous  words  that  they  inflamed  the  hearts  of  all  who 
heard  them.  To  strangers  also,  especially  when  they  were 
in  mortal  sin,  she  sometimes  spoke  words,  which  could  on- 
ly come  from  Him  who  proves  the  reins  and  the  heart,  and 
of  hearts  hard  as  stone  makes  children  of  God.  A  few 

1  Brevilog.  P.  II.  C.  8.  "  Intra  Deum  currant."  2  Rom.  vlil.  14. 


194        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

words  from  her  penetrated  the  coldest  hearts  with  a  crush- 
ing repentance  and  contrition,  and  drew  fortli  from  their 
eyes  floods  of  tears. 

Nevertheless,  exalted  and  interior  as  her  prayer  and  her 
conduct  undoubtedly  were,  she  was  far  removed  from  the 
sham  devotion  of  those  who  despise  outward  exercises,  con- 
sidering them  beneath  their  dignity.  The  servant  of  God 
took  pleasure  in  performing  faithfully  all  the  exterior  exer- 
cises and  vocal  prayers  of  the  community,  and  even  added 
many  of  her  own  accord  ;  but  the  exterior  exercises  were  by 
her  rendered  interior,  so  that  she  adored  God  in  spirit  and 
in  truth.  We  have  already  noted  many  of  these  exercises 
of  hers ;  as  a  picture  of  her  whole  life  of  prayer,  we  will 
give  a  short  description  of  the  manner  in  which  she  spent 
the  days  preceding  Lent  (carnival). 

During  these  days,  in  which,  almost  everywhere,  people 
seem  to  claim  the  privilege  of  forgetting  God  and  of  offend- 
ing Him  by  sin,  as  if  by  prescriptive  right,  she  knelt  con- 
stantly before  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  to  honor  the  Divine 
Majesty  the  more  for  the  many  offences  then  committed 
against  Him,  and  to  crave  for  mercy  to  the  many  blinded 
souls  who  run  after  empty  and  gloomy  shadows,  forgetting 
the  Eternal  Light  in  its  infinite  loveliness.  Even  in  the 
last  years  of  her  life,  her  great  weakness  and  sickness  could 
not  keep  her  from  making  this  exercise. 

She  also  gave  her  fellow-religious  earnest  admonitions 
and  comprehensive  instructions  to  make  a  careful  use  of 
these  days  as  a  time  of  penance  and  of  prayer  for  the  sins 
of  the  world  ;  and  since  we  must  suppose  that  she  herself 
carried  out,  in  the  most  perfect  manner,  the  exercises  which 
she  prescribed  to  others,  we  will  copy  one  of  the  many 
methods  arranged  for  the  use  of  those  days.  They  have 
been  substantially  written  down  by  her  pupils,  and  are  pre- 
served in  a  book  already  mentioned,  styled  :  The  Purposes 
of  Ven.  Crescentia  :  Die  Sifteinuitgen  ber  £f>r».  SreScentta. 
This  one  method  is  substantially  as  follows  :  "  Since  the 
goodness  of  God  is  so  very  much  offended  at  this  time,  a 


Gift  of  Prayer  and  Contemplation.         195 

soul  that  lovos  God  should  endeavor  to  replace  these  of- 
fences, committed  by  the  children  of  the  world,  by  pious 
exercises,  and  for  these  five  days  keep  up  a  spiritual  drama 
for  our  dear  Saviour,  consisting  of  meditations  on  five  mys- 
teries taken  from  the  ignominious  and  doleful  Passion  of 
Christ.  These  they  might  represent  to  the  heavenly 
Father  and  offer  them  up  in  behalf  of  sinners.  On  the 
Thursday  before  Quinquagesima  Sunday,  they  should  medi- 
tate on  the  contempt,  ridicule,  affronts,  and  fulness  of 
sorrow  which  Christ  suffered  in  the  court  of  Caiphas,  and 
should  offer  their  meditation  up  to  God.  On  Quinquagesima 
Sunday  they  should  choose  the  contemptuous  and  painful 
treatment  He  underwent  before  the  court  of  Herod ;  on  Mon- 
day, the  scourging,  on  Tuesday,  the  crowning  with  thorns, 
and  on  Ash -Wednesday,  the  drama  of  the  s  Ecce  Homo.' 
Early  in  the  morning  of  these  days  all  the  faculties  of 
the  soul  should  be  directed  to  the  consideration  of  these 
respective  mysteries,  making  the  intentions  to  perform  all 
their  works  and  exercises  and  to  bear  the  inconveniences  of 
the  day  in  union  with  the  infinitely  meritorious  mysteries 
of  the  suffering  Redeemer  and  for  His  greater  glory.  All 
their  prayers  and  meditations  should  be  referred  to  the 
suffering  Saviour  ;  especially  at  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  is  His  Passion  to  be  offered  with  all  fervor,  as  a  repar- 
ation for  the  contempt  cast  upon  the  Divine  Majesty.  At 
the  same  time,  acts  of  thanksgiving,  of  petition,  and  of 
contrition  should  be  made." 

As  an  ejaculatory  prayer,  to  be  frequently  repeated 
through  the  day,  is  given  :  "  0  my  Jesus  !  turn  away 
.Thine  eyes  and  ears  from  everything  displeasing  to  Thee 
and  direct  them  to  what  pleases  Thee  !  *'  The  prudent  re- 
mark is  added,  that  these  exercises  should  be  performed  in 
secret,  without  betraying  any  sadness ;  but  on  the  con- 
trary, keeping  the  soul  in  peace  and  joy,  while  even  during 
the  cheerful  conversation  at  recreation  they  were  to  keep 
the  mystery  before  their  minds  by  casually  casting  on  it  a 
spiritual  glance. 


196         The  Life  of  Ve.ii.  JAn-r  Crescent  ia. 

From  what  has  been  said,  we  may  npply  to  Crescontia 
the  praise  which  the  Church,  in  the  Breviary,  confers  on 
St.  Martin  :  "  Turning  her  eyes  and  hands  to  Heaven, 
she  with  indefatigable  soul  never  ceased  from  praying." 
Like  the  citizens  of  Heaven,  she  spent  day  and  night  in 
using  the  holy  language  of  the  eye  and  of  the  heart  with 
her  beloved  Supreme  Good.  Her  fidelity  was  priceless  ; 
the  Word  of  the  Lord,  "  Ask.  and  you  shall  receive,  that 
your  joy  may  be  full,"  '  was  already  visibly  fulfilled  in  her 
mortal  life ;  eternity,  however,  will  fully  reveal  the  ful- 
ness of  her  joys. 

This  exhortation  and  this  promise  were  also  given  to 
you,  dear  Christian.  Prayer,  therefore,  should  be  the  con- 
stant breath  of  your  interior  life,  that  the  words  of  the 
prophet  may  also  be  verified  in  your  regard  :  "  My  eyes 
are  ever  towards  the  Lord  ;  for  He  shall  pluck  my  feet 
out  of  the  snare." * 


CHAPTER  IX. 
How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ  in  Every  One.' 

|HE  love  coming  from  Christ  produces  two  shoots 
from  one  root,  and  by  a  two-fold  exercise  fulfils 
two  commandments  :  the  first  and  greatest  is 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  second,  which  is  like  unto  the 
first,  is  the  love  of  one's  neighbor.  And  as  this  second 
exercise  of  love  presupposes  the  first  and  makes  that  first 
visible,  the  whole*  law  is  summed  up  in  the  words : 
"  Love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself." 4  Would  to  God  that 
this  truth  were  as  commonly  put  into  practice  as  it  is  com- 
monly known ! 
From  the  fulness  of  that  divine  love,  which  inflamed  the 

1  John  xvi.  24.  *  Ps.  xxiv.  15. 

»  Summ.  N.  10, 8  1-443.-B.  Inform.  8  119-144.  «  Gal.  v.  14. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  197 

heart  of  Ven.  Sister  M.  Crescentia,  a  stream  of  love  for 
her  neighbor  poured  forth  powerfully  and  brilliantly,  a  love 
which  all  the  waters  of  unkindness,  injustice,  ingratitude, 
and  hatred  could  neither  quench  nor  weaken  ;  they  but 
served  to  make  it  more  manifest.  The  Spirit  of  God  in- 
cessantly urged  her  to  practise  this  virtue  in  the  most  per- 
fect manner  possible  ;  she  said  herself,  a  voice  continually 
resounded  in  her  heart  :  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor 
as  thyself/'  She  herself  neglected  not  to  encourage  it  with 
new  resolutions.  In  1741  she  writes: '  "  I  dare  not  admit 
anything  in  my  heart  which  is  against  the  love  of  my 
neighbor.  Thou,  my  Redeemer,  art  my  neighbor,  and  next 
to  Thee  all  rational  creatures  are  my  neighbors.  I  will, 
therefore,  love  Thee  in  my  neighbor,  and  my  neighbor  I 
will  love  as  myself."  She  looked  on  every  day  as  lost  in 
which  she  could  not  exercise  love.  But  by  this  love  she 
altogether  understood  the  supernatural,  the  specific  Chris- 
tian love  of  which  Christ  is  at  once  the  source  and  the  end, 
the  measure  and  the  rule.  Natural  love,  on  the  other  hand, 
comes  from  human  affection,  and  whoever  loves  from  this 
source,  seeks  more  or  less  his  own  satisfaction,  honor,  or 
interest.  And  because  this  natural  love  takes  its  own  will 
for  its  rule,  it  cannot  yield  to  the  first  and  supreme  will  of 
Him  who  is  love  itself. 

Crescentia  had,  indeed,  naturally,  a  heart  rich  in  love  and 
compassion,  and  tender  in  affection  ;  yet  with  this  heart 
she  had  given  herself  up  absolutely  to  the  service  of  Christ, 
and  had  so  intimately  united  it  with  the  original  source  of 
the  eternal  and  most  holy  love,  that  the  natural  power  of 
love  became  penetrated  through  and  through,  was  trans- 
figured and  regulated  by  the  love  that  proceedeth  from 
and  leadeth  to  eternity. 

Mere  natural  love  was  an  abomination  to  her  :  she  used 
to  say  that  it  became  a  consecrated  person  very  ill  and  was 
for  such  a  person  a  kind  of  idolatry  ;  consequently  she 
spoke  often  and  very  severely  against  the  pestilence  of  par- 

1  Kolh,  p.  51. 


198        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

ticular  friendships,  which  sometimes  cause  so  much  mis- 
chief in  religious  communities  :  originating  in  the  natural 
affections,  albeit  not  exactly  of  the  lowest  order,  they  can 
only  aim  at  natural  ends,  such  as  the  responding  to  tem- 
poral and  perishable  inclinations.  She  warned  her  hearers 
that  they  who  entertain  such  friendships  can  never  attain 
to  interior  peace,  and  consequently  never  arrive  at  per- 
fection ;  they  are  even  in  a  very  critical  condition  with  re- 
gard to  their  souls,  and  at  the  same  time  can  easily  be- 
come a  stumbling-block  to  others.  Such  friendships  grad- 
ually destroy  the  universal  love  and  peace,  nay,  even  obedi- 
ence itself  ;  they  smother  devotion  and  are  capable  of  ef- 
fecting the  ruin  of  a  whole  community. 

She  herself  was  so  penetrated  with  the  light  of  faith  and 
the  love  of  Jesus  Christ  that  the  exterior  of  persons  and 
things  to  which  the  sensible  affections  attach  themselves 
was  for  her  altogether  in  the  back-ground.  Her  enlight- 
ened eye  acknowledged  in  every  human  being  the  image 
of  God,  and,  as  such,  one  entitled  to  great  respect  and 
love  ;  further,  each  one  was  the  property  of  Jesus  Christ, 
bought  by  the  high  price  of  His  Blood,  nay,  was  the  living 
member  of  the  Redeemer,  or,  at  the  least,  destined  to  be- 
come a  member  of  Christ  and  to  remain  so  forever. 
Jesus  Christ,  the  great  King,  met  her  in  the  person  of 
every  one,  even  were  it  the  most  miserable  human  object 
possible,  to  call  forth  the  tribute  of  love,  to  which  He 
alone  has  an  inalienable  title,  to  collect  it  through  His  re- 
presentatives, to  take  possession  of  it  and  reward  it  by  re- 
turning eternal  love  for  it.  And  since  Christ  was  the  origin, 
object,  and  aim  of  her  love,  it  explains  itself  how  it 
was  that  her  love  became  so  disinterested,  so  forgetful 
of  self,  that  ordinary  people,  who  "  all  seek  the  things 
that  are  their  own,  and  not  the  things  that  are  Jesus 
Christ's/' '  considered  it  as  exaggerated  and  foolish.  To 
sacrifice  her  own,  to  deprive  herself  of  it,  by  giving  it  to 
others,  was  so  peculiar  to  her,  in  a  measure,  that  a  wit- 

1  Phil.  11.  81. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  199 

ness  stated  :   "  She   seemed   not  to    have  been  born  for 
herself,  but  for  her  neighbors.  '* 

Therefore  it  was  that  she  neither  expected  nor  claimed 
any  return  for  the  love  she  showed,  no  thanks,  no  love  in 
response,  no  service  from  men,  for  it  was  to  Christ  alone 
to  whom  her  love  and  service  were  tendered.  More  yet, 
when  for  her  good  offices  she  was  met  by  evil,  when  her 
love  encountered  ingratitude,  rudeness,  and  offence,  which 
often  happened,  she  thought  it  a  double  gain,  and  it  was  re- 
marked that  she  was  unusually  gay  and  cheerful.  Her 
gain  was  double,  because,  in  the  first  place,  an  opportun- 
ity had  been  given  to  exercise  active  love,  and  in  the 
second,  to  practise  patient  love,  which  is  still  better. 
Whoever  afforded  her  occasion  to  practise  this  virtue 
was  her  benefactor,  who  deserved  her  thanks.  According 
to  this,  the  giver  of  a  gift  should  rather  consider  himself 
under  obligation  to  the  receiver  than  the  receiver  to  him. 
This  view  is,  indeed,  the  order  of  the  world  reversed,  but 
blessed  is  he  who  can  comprehend  and  practise  it.  It  is 
but  the  application  and  natural  sequence  of  the  words  of 
eternal  truth  :  ' '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive." She  looked  upon  all  rational  beings  from  the 
same  exalted  stand-point  of  universal  love.  Grace  had  burst 
asunder  the  narrow  limits  with  which  self-love  surrounds 
its  sphere  of  action,  and  her  heart  extended  its  sympathy 
and  love  over  the  whole  communion  of  Saints,  over  the 
entire  human  race.  Her  faith  was  catholic,  that  is,  uni- 
versal, and  so  was  the  love  of  her  heart.  As  faith,  in  com- 
ing forth  from  God,  overleaps  the  boundaries  of  time  and 
space,  and  even  in  its  visible  and  temporal  extension 
can  permit  in  the  Church  no  barriers  of  nationality  or  of 
political  restriction,  so  love  must  never  say  :  "  Thus  far, 
and  no  farther,  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  yonder  man." 
Xo  ;  catholic  love  must  be  perfect,  even  as  is  the  love  of  the 
"Father  in  Heaven,  who  maketh  His  sun  to  rise  upon  the- 
good  and  bad  :  and  raineth  upon  the  just  and  the  unjust." a 

1  Acts  xx.  35.  2  Matth.  v.  45. 


2oo       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Ven.  M.  Creseentui  possessed  this  catholic  heart ;  she 
felt  that  beating  of  the  pulse  of  the  love  of  God,  that  runs 
through  all  creation,  and  reveals  itself  in  the  highest  de- 
gree in  the  children  of  God.  It  gladdened  her  heart  to  see 
others  glad,  she  mourned  with  the  mourners,  suffered  with 
the  suffering,  and  fought  with  and  for  such  as  were  in  dan- 
ger and  in  need.  How  her  soul  rejoiced  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  triumphant  Church,  and  poured  itself  out  in 
that  endless  praise  and  thanksgiving  which  she  offered 
to  God  for  the  love  He  had  bestowed  upon  the  Saints  ! 
On  the  other  hand,  the  compassion  she  felt  for  the  poor 
souls  in  purgatory  and  for  all  the  sufferings  and  needs  of 
the  Church  militant,  is  beyond  the  power  of  expression. 
In  contemplating  these,  she  forgot  her  own  personal  griefs, 
and  did  not  hesitate  to  make  every  imaginable  sacri- 
fice, in  order  to  help  and  console  any  one  whom  she  found 
suffering.  From  this  same  disinterested  and  universal 
love  proceeded  the  pious  habit  she  had  of  thanking  God 
for  any  good  she  noticed  in  any  one  else,  as  she  would 
for  a  benefit  conferred  upon  herself.1  "  0  God  ! "  she 
would  then  say,  "  I  thank  Thee  a  thousand  times  for 
this  grace  which  Thou  hast  bestowed  on  my  fellow-man. 
Alas  !  I  am  not  worthy  of  such  a  grace,  as  this  my 
neighbor  is;  but  Thou,  0  God  !  shalt  be  loved  and  praised 
for  it  forever.  Increase  Thy  grace  in  my  neighbor, 
that  he  may  seek  nothing  and  love  nothing  but  Thee 
alone."  One  of  her  usual  prayers  was  that  God  would  let 
her  die  the  most  painful  death  for  the  salvation  of  those 
who  were  in  the  state  of  sin.  Such  sentiments  can  only 
be  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of  love.  This  is  true, 
practical  Christianity,  as  expressed  in  the  words  of  St. 
Paul  :  "If  one  member  suffer  anything,  all  the  mem- 
bers suffer  with  it ;  or,  if  one  member  glory,  all  the 
members  rejoice  with  it.  Now  you  are  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  members  of  member."  * 

Although  she  embraced  all  mankind  in  love  and  by  her 

1  Gabriel,  p.  105.  *  I.  Cor.  xll.  2G,  27. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Clirist.  201 

will,  nevertheless,  in  the  exercise  of  her  love,  she  observed 
the  order  appointed  by  the  will  of  God.  The  salvation  of 
men  was  the  first  object  of  her  love,  and  therefore,  in  prayer, 
she  gave  the  preference  to  those  whose  salvation  was  in 
danger.  "A  religious,"  she  said,  "must  not  be  intent  on 
her  own  salvation  alone,  but  must  labor  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners  and  the  conversion  of  heretics  and  infidels,  with 
all  her  strength,  by  holy  desires,  fervent  prayers,  and 
a  life  of  penance."  For  that  reason  she  had  also  a 
maternal  compassion  for  those  who  were  tempted  and 
afflicted,  and  she  endeavored,  even  when  she  was  without 
consolation  herself,  to  console  them  in  all  possible  ways. 
She  frequently  prayed  : 1  "  0  God  !  console  my  neigh- 
bor, according  to  Thy  divine  will,  when,  according  to  that 
same  will,  I  am  left  without  consolation.  If  it  fare  well 
with  my  neighbor,  then  let  what  may  happen  to  me  :  I 
am  Thy  slave,  and  the  work  of  Thy  hands." 

She  possessed  a  peculiar  gift  in  consoling  the  afflicted,  and 
it  is  said  that  no  one  who  was  grieving  ever  left  her  presence 
unconsoled.  It  was,  however,  principally  the  misery  of 
sinners  that  excited  her  love  to  the  most  strenuous  exertions. 
The  bitter  tears  which  she  shed  nearly  every  day  will 
show  how  great  the  grief  was  which  she  experienced 
on  their  account,  as  also  the  fainting-fits  into  which  she 
fell  at  times,  which  were  occasioned  by  the  pain  she  felt 
at  hearing  of  great  sins.  This  is  shown  also  by  her  inces- 
sant prayers  for  them,  especially  at  holy  Mass,  where  she 
offered  up  her  tears  in  union  with  the  Blood  of  the  Saviour; 
by  her  severe  works  of  penance,  her  fastings,  her  scourg- 
ings,  all  offered  up  every  day  with  the  same  intention.  In 
regard  to  the  latter,  her  love  would  have  made  her  trans- 
gress the  limits  of  prudence,  had  not  obedience  restrained 
her  fervor.  She  found  it  hard  that  the  will  of  her  Super- 
iors only  permitted  her  to  scourge  herself  three  times  a  day. 

God  Himself  sometimes  enlightened  her  concerning  ex- 
traordinary perils  incurred  by  some  souls,  that  she  might 

1  (ial.riel,  p.  100. 


2O2        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

pray  for  them.  Sister  Gabriel  says,1  that  Crescentia  some- 
times heard  voices  in  the  air,  of  persons  in  great  suffer- 
ing, calling  on  her  for  aid,  which  request  she  fervent- 
ly complied  with.  Father  Ott  relates,*  that  on  one  occa- 
sion she  suddenly  rose  from  prayer  and  called  on  her  fellow- 
Sisters  to  help  her  to  pray  for  one  in  the  agony  of  death, 
whose  name  she  mentioned  ;  afterwards  they  ascertained 
that  that  very  person  was  at  that  time  really  dying,  a  fact 
she  could  not  have  become  acquainted  with  by  any  natural 
means. 

The  thought  that  so  many  persons  are  actually  in  the 
state  of  mortal  sin,  caused  her  a  painful  oppression  of  the 
heart.  She  would  willingly  have  died  for  each  one  of  them, 
if  by  the  death  of  her  body,  she  could  have  acquired  spir- 
itual life  for  them.  On  the  other  hand,  her  joy  was  inex- 
pressible when  she  heard  of  the  conversion  of  a  sinner.  On 
the  great  festivals,  when  many  Christians  usually  approacli 
the  Sacraments,  her  prayers  were  very  fervent  on  behalf  of 
the  penitents,  while  her  joy  was  great,  because  she  presup- 
posed that  many  a  sinner  became  again  a  child  of  God. 

For  the  same  reason,  she  rejoiced  excessively  whenever 
the  Holy  See  proclaimed  a  Jubilee  or  an  extraordinary  in- 
dulgence. She  very  appropriately  called  the  Jubilee  an 
"invention  of  love,  by  which  many  sinners  were  led  back  on 
the  road  of  penance."  She  then  admonished  the  Sisters  in 
these  words  :  "  Pray,  beloved  Sisters,  pra}r,  because  now  is 
the  time  of  grace  for  the  earth,  and  of  joy  for  Heaven  ;  in- 
numerable souls  will  be  converted  from  sin  to  penance." 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that  she  herself  availed 
herself  of  such  an  occasion  by  increasing  her  prayers  and 
penitential  works. 

Modest  and  retiring  as  she  naturally  was,  she  knew  no 
fear  of  man  when  the  conversion  of  a  soul  was  in  question. 
With  frankness  and  irresistible  power  she  would  then  ex- 
hort even  persons  in  authority  to  do  penance;  and  as  the 
Spirit  of  God  frequently  revealed  to  her  the  secrets  of 

1  Gabriel,  p.  117.  ''  on.  M.  II.  0.5. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  203 

strangers'  consciences,  she  sometimes,  by  her  earnest  and 
loving  words,  completely  took  by  surprise  persons  already 
hardened  in  sin  and  made  them  tremble.  Once,  when 
urging  a  sinner  to  be  converted,  she  knelt  down  before 
him  and  exhorted  him  with  such  piercing  and  passion- 
ate words,  that  he  acknowledged  that  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  him  to  withstand  her.  At  times,  an 
expressive  glance  cast  at  a  sinner  sufficed  to  pierce  his  soul 
and  move  it  to  contrition.  In  this  way,  as  the  Acts  as- 
sert, she  worked  innumerable  conversions  by  prayer  and 
exhortations.1 

When  she  prayed  for  a  sinner,  she  did  so  with  such  ar- 
dent fervor,  scourged  herself  so  cruelly,  persevered  therein 
with  such  deep  interior  pains  and  heartfelt  aspirations,  that 
she  did  not  leave  off  until  her  prayer  was  heard.  This  soon 
became  known  far  and  wide,  and  when  all  other  means  had 
failed  to  convert  a  hardened  sinner,  people  had  recourse 
to  her.  Thus  the  Acts  make  mention  of  a  miserable 
wretch  who,  on  his  death-bed,  obstinately  refused  the  Sac- 
raments. They  wrote  about  him  to  Crescentia,  who  at 
once  used  all  means  to  obtain  grace  for  him,  and  with  such 
success,  that  all  who  knew  him  were  not  a  little  astonished, 
especially  at  the  edifying  fervor  of  the  penitent. 

We  have  already  related  the  glowing  zeal  that  animated 
her  for  the  conversion  of  the  heathen  ;  to  this  we  may  here 
add,  that  she  most  earnestly  besought  all  the  priests  and 
preachers  of  the  Word  of  God,  to  be  indefatigable  in  cast- 
ing the  net  to  catch  souls.  No  sacrifice  could  be  too  great 
for  that  purpose.  There  was  nothing  more  pleasing  to  God 
than  to  labor  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  he  who  would 
not  tend  the  souls  for  which  Christ  shed  His  blood,  could 
not  be  a  friend  of  Christ.  When  Father  Flotto  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  a  renowned  missionary  of  that  period,  told 
her,  that  from  age  and  infirmity  he  had  resolved  to  discon- 
tinue his  missions,  she  spoke  to  him  with  so  much  em- 
phatic earnestness,  that  he  yielded  consent  to  consecrate 

>  Act.  B.  Inform.  §  127. 


2O4        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

his  last  strength  to  this  fruitful  but  difficult  work. 
The  nearest  circle  in  which  her  love  was  actively  called 
forth  was  naturally  the  convent  itself  ;  and  we  must  say 
that  the  love  which  she  felt  towards  her  Sisters  was  shown 
by  her  being  so  accommodating,  so  kind  and  painstaking, 
so  active  and  patient,  that  no  mother  could  do  more  to  ex- 
press her  love  to  her  best  loved,  darling  child. 

According  to  the  unanimous  testimony  of  all  the  Sisters 
who  lived  with  her,  the  tender  consideration  with  which 
she  avoided  doing  anything  that  could  give  the  least  of- 
fence to  others,  and  the  readiness  with  which  she  sought  to 
gratify  any  reasonable  wish  of  another  person,  could  not  be 
carried  further.  In  forty  years,  no  impatient,  contentious, 
or  in  any  way  offensive  word  was  ever  heard  from  her, 
neither  did  she  speak  of  her  Sisters'  faults,  even  of  such  as 
were  publicly  known  ;  she  praised  everybody  except  her- 
self, blamed  no  one  except  when  duty  required  her  to  rep- 
rimand those  subject  to  her,  and  she  ever  stood  up  in  de- 
fence of  the  honor  of  others.  Were  the  faults  public,  she 
would  sometimes  say  :  "  Oh  !  these  are  but  little  failings, 
while  my  own  are  very  great  and  without  number."  When 
it  was  possible,  she  explained  everything  in  a  charitable 
manner,  or  would  say:  "Under  similar  circumstances  I 
should  have  done  a  thousand  times  worse  myself."  She 
knew  how  to  say  something  good  of  everybody  and  would 
enumerate  their  virtues  without  noticing  their  faults.  If 
she  saw  a  poor  person,  she  would  say  that  he  was  far  more 
patient  in  his  poverty  than  she  could  be.  If  she  saw  per- 
sons gaudily  dressed,  she  would  suppose  that  under  their 
soft  garments  they  were  perhaps  mortifying  their  bodies  a 
thousand  times  more  than  she  did  herself.  It  was  in  this 
way  that  she  guided  the  Sisters  :  "  We  must,  "  she  said, 
"act  like  the  bees,  which  suck  out  the  honey  alone,  from 
every  direction,  while  spiders  seek  poison.  Like  the  bees 
we  must  seek  the  honey  of  virtue  and  of  good  example  and 
teaching  from  our  neighbors." 

She  always  preferred  the  will  of  another  to  her  own,  be- 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  205 

ing  ever  ready  to  serve  every  one  with  pleasure.  She  had 
the  beautiful  saying,  "  I  am  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  in 
the  house  of  the  Lord/'  not  on  her  lips  alone,  but  cheerful- 
ly she  made  herself  the  servant  of  all,  becoming  all  things 
to  all  men.1  She  considered  it  her  duty  to  select  the  hard- 
est and  meanest  work  for  herself,  and  without  being 
asked,  to  assist  her  Sisters  in  every  necessity  of  body  or  of 
soul ;  she  was  therefore  styled  the  "  universal  helper,  "  be- 
cause, notwithstanding  her  own  feeble  health,  she  was  al- 
ways ready  to  help  when  a  Sister  was  taken  sick  or  was  in 
any  other  way  hindered  in  her  work  ;  and  this  she  did  so 
cordially  and  so  cheerfully,  that  her  loving  heart  could  be 
felt  by  every  one. 

The  sick  and  the  feeble  experienced  her  love  and  had 
most  of  her  assistance.  Her  compassion  for  them  was  so 
great  that  she  could  not  keep  back  her  tears  ;  she  wished 
to  suffer  with  them  and  for  them,  nay,  to  be  sick  with  the 
sick.  She  tended  them  cheerfully  day  and  night,  perform- 
ing with  pleasure  the  most  difficult  and  repugnant  services  in 
their  behalf,  consoling,  tending,  praying  ;  she  did  every- 
thing that  she  imagined  they  would  like.  The  sick  Sisters 
often  said  that  she  was  a  true  mother  to  them,  rather  than 
a  nurse.  In  the  service  of  the  sick,  she  carried  her  self- 
denial  to  the  extreme,  especially  when  she  assumed  the  care  of 
Sister  Dorothea  Osterrieder,  an  aged  religious.2  The  age  and 
the  nature  of  the  sickness  made  nursing  this  Sister  so  hard, 
that  the  other  Sisters  could  no  longer  conquer  their  loath- 
ing and  disgust ;  Crescentia  then  undertook  the  case,  and 
her  zeal  grew  in  fervor  as  the  sickness  increased  ;  nay, 
perhaps  to  punish  an  involuntary  feeling  of  disgust,  she,  in 
the  same  heroic  manner  as  we  read  of  in  the  life  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Sienna,  once  mortified  herself  by  forcing  her- 
self to  take  into  her  mouth  the  stinking  expectorations  of 
the  sick  woman. 

She  gained  a  similar  victory  over  herself,  when  the  Sis- 
ters M.  Anna  Neth  and  M.  Angelina  Aichel  had  very  bad 

1  I.  Cor.  IK.  **.  2  Summ.  N,  10,  §  203. 


206        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

wounds  ou  their  feet  :  not  content  with  cleansing  and  dress- 
ing these,  she  conquered  herself  so  far  as  to  suck  them  out. 
The  former  of  these  Sisters  was  thereby  cured  at 
once  without  the  use  of  any  other  remedy.1  It  is  self- 
evident  that  she  had  a  greater  care  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  sick  than  for  their  physical  health.  She 
consoled  and  admonished  them  by  salutary  instructions 
and  proverbs,  and  was  specially  careful  to  provide  for 
them  a  timely  reception  of  the  Sacraments.  She  even  had 
the  special  grace  of  foreknowing  the  hour  of  their  death. 
When  it  drew  near,  she  did  not  stir  from  the  bed  of  death, 
but  rendered  bodily  and  spiritual  help  up  to  the  last 
moment.  Other  Sisters  were  once  tending  the  sick  Sister 
M.  Clara  Perl,  and  did  not  at  all  apprehend  that  death  was 
near ;  suddenly  Crescentia  entered  the  infirmary,  saying : 
"  See  there  !  Clara  is  dying."  And  so  it  was  ;  had  she  not 
come,  Clara  would  have  expired  without  the  other  attend- 
ants remarking  it. 

The  salvation  of  her  Sisters  was  as  dear  to  her  heart  as 
her  own.  She  sometimes  said,  with  inexpressible  emphasis: 
"  Oh,  my  beloved  Sisters  !  Could  I  but  carry  you  in  my 
arms  up  to  Heaven,  how  gladly  would  I  sacrifice  my  honor 
and  my  life  to  do  it  ! "  With  eyes  upturned  to  Heaven,  she 
frequently  repeated  the  loving  words  of  the  Saviour  : 
"  Holy  Father,  keep  them  in  Thy  name,  whom  Thou  hast 
given  me." '  How  as  Mistress  of  Novices  and  as  Superioress 
she  continued  to  work  in  the  same  spirit,  we  shall  here- 
after give  in  detail. 

The  crown  of  all  the  practices  of  love  for  one's  neighbor 
is  patience  with  the  failings  of  our  fellow-men,  and  es- 
pecially "  love  of  one's  enemies. "  The  great  precept  of  the 
Lord  :  "  Love  your  enemies,  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
you,  and  pray  for  them  that  persecute  and  calumniate  you," 8 
Crescentia  inculcated  not  only  by  word  of  mouth,  but  by 
such  conspicuous  and  heroic  example,  that  the  universal 
conviction  found  expression  in  the  words  :  "  The  more  bar- 

1  Summ-  N.  10,  9  404.          7  John  xvil    11.  '  Matth.  v.  44. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  207 

harously  one  behaves  to  Crescentia,  the  dearer  one  becomes 
to  her."  Deviating  from  the  view  generally  taken,  she  de- 
clared that  her  persecutors  and  enemies  were  her  greatest 
benefactors.  "Consider  it  as  undoubtedly  true,"  she  used 
to  say,  "that  our  enemies  are  our  greatest  benefactors. 
They  pay  such  diligent  attention  to  our  faults  and  remind 
us  of  them,  so  that  we  can  look  after  and  amend 
them."  To  these  words  of  the  servant  of  God,  we  can 
safely  apply  the  saying  of  the  Lord  :  "  Blessed  art  thou.  .  . 
.  .  .  because  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  to  thee, 
but  My  Father  who  is  in  Heaven. "  '  In  the  same  sense  she  ex- 
pressed herself  when  she  was  told  that  such  and  such  persons 
were  her  enemies  ;  with  a  smile  on  her  face  she  gave  her 
opinion  in  the  following  words  :  "  I  know  nothing  about 
enemies.  For,  indeed,  my  greatest  enemies  are  my  greatest 
friends,  since  they  give  me  an  occasion  to  go  to  my  beloved 
God,  and  to  suffer  a  little  for  love  of  Him."  She  once  said  to 
Sister  Joachima,  that  if  she  were  most  cruelly  put  to  death 
by  any  one,  and  then  restored  to  life,  she  would  confer 
every  act  of  love  she  could  think  of  on  her  murderer  ; 
"  for,"  she  added,  "it  is  God's  command  that  we  should 
love  our  enemies,  and  that  must  be  sufficient  for  us." 
God  granted  her  the  most  abundant  graces  to  carry  out  in 
actions  these  exalted  sentiments.  Few  men  have  encount- 
ered such  reckless  disregard  of  justice,  such  ingratitude, 
such  spite  and  contempt,  in  return  for  the  practice  of  sub- 
lime virtues,  in  the  degree  that  befell  Crescentia.  Yet,  as 
we  have  already  stated,  all  these  floods  of  mighty  wrongs 
could  not  extinguish  the  fire  of  love  within  her,  nay,  they 
served  but  to  increase  it. 

When  she  had  favors  to  confer  she  gave  the  preference 
to  her  enemies,  even  when  doing  so  laid  her  open  to 
the  imputation  of  stupidity,  want  of  feeling,  or  hypocrisy. 
No  one  could  finally  withstand  such  kindness.  She 
not  only  kept  silent  respecting  the  offences  she  received, 
but  she  took  the  offender's  part.  She  often  kissed  the 

1  Matth.  xvi.  17. 


208        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

footprints  of  those  who  had  just  before  grievously  in- 
sulted her.  It  happened,  at  the  time  when  she  was 
calumniated  as  a  witch,  that  some  one,  instigated  by 
the  devil,  spat  in  her  face  ;  she  immediately  knelt  down 
and  asked  pardon  of  the  offender.  Sister  M.  Josepha  re- 
lates other  similar  cases,  where  she  at  once  asked  pardon, 
thereby  moving  every  one,  even  the  offending  party,  to  tears. 
Then  she  continues :  "I  saw  that  once,  when  singing, 
she  received  a  push  from  an  old  Sister  named  M.  Antonia. 
Though  she  had  committed  no  fault,  and  had  been  greatly 
insulted,  she  asked  forgiveness  with  such  sincere  humility, 
that  I  could  not  refrain  from  weeping  aloud."  In  later  years 
such  great  offences  did  not  recur,  but  God  so  ordained 
(many  think  at  her  special  prayer)  that  she  was  never  without 
an  occasion  to  exercise  her  patient  love.  Some  mocked  at 
her  ecstasies  and  revelations,  laughed  at  her  works  of  pen- 
ance and  heroic  virtues,  or  declared  them  to  be  hypocrisy. 
Others  maintained  that  her  sickness  was  mostly  laziness, 
that  she  would  rather  sit  in  the  Church  than  work,  and 
they  were  the  more  regardless  in  what  they  said  against 
her,  from  the  fact  that  she  said  that  they  were  right, 
and  undertook  to  defend  them.  It  certainly  came  to  pass, 
at  times,  that  the  other  Sisters  and  the  Superioress  wished 
such  unkindness  to  be  punished  ;  then  the  servant  of  God 
came  forward  as  mediatrix,  knelt  down  and  with  tears 
prayed  for  the  pardon  of  the  Sisters'  faults,  and  that 
a  penance  should  be  put  on  herself  as  the  real  offender. 
It  was  at  all  times  with  a  heavy  heart  that  she  saw  the 
Mother  Superior  impose  a  punishment  on  any  Sister  for  a 
fault ;  she  would  then  never  omit  to  ask  the  Superioress 
to  put  the  penance  on  her  as  the  worse  one  of  the  two. 

Even  on  her  death-bed,  she  gave  a  brilliant  example  of 
her  love  for  her  enemies. '  She  declared,  with  a  counte- 
nance glowing  with  love,  a  few  hours  before  her  death  :  "  I 
forgive,  from  my  whole  heart,  all  who  may  not  have  been 


Summ.  N.  10,  9  335. 


How  Crescentia  Loved  Christ.  209 

favorably  inclined  towards  me  during  my  life-time;  I  wish 
them  every  good,  temporal  and  eternal.  Besides  this.,  I  for- 
give, beforehand,  from  my  whole  heart,  every  one  who, 
after  my  death,  may  judge  ill  or  speak  unfavorably  of 
me." 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  love  with  which  she  cher- 
ished the  poor.  The  mere  title  "  Mother  of  the  Poor/'  which 
was  given  her  during  the  seventeen  years  in  which  she  was 
door-keeper,  to  express  the  gratitude  of  the  poor  people, 
speaks  more  than  would  many  words;  this  title  she  never 
dishonored  in  after  times.  As  Mother  Superior  especially, 
she  increased  the  usual  daily  dole  of  alms,  and  provided, 
with  special  kindness,  for  poor  families,  as  well  as  for  the 
sick  and  feeble.  In  what  spirit  she  did  this,  the  following 
words  will  show:  "  I  thus  feed  the  Divine  Word,  who 
Himself  said:  I  was  hungry  and  you  gave  Me  to  eat."  It 
was  for  this  reason  that  she  was  so  willing  to  be  with  the 
poor,  without  being  in  the  least  repelled  by  their  failings, 
or  their  frequently  over-exacting  demands.  She  listened 
to  their  complaints  with  a  mother's  love,  wept  with  them 
over  their  sufferings,  and  instructed  them  how  to  win  from 
their  poverty  the  benefit  God  intended  to  confer  by  its 
means.  The  kind  and  cordial  manner  with  which  she  be- 
stowed her  alms  perhaps  did  the  poor  more  good  than  the 
gift  itself.  The  most  friendly  smile  and  most  endearing 
words  were  reserved  for  the  poor  and  sick.  When  the  con- 
versation turned  on  these  unfortunates,  her  eyes  immediately 
filled  with  tears,  and  if  she  was  at  table,  she  could  no 
longer  eat ;  she  then  requested  of  the  Superioress  to  be 
permitted  to  give  her  share  of  the  food  to  the  persons  in 
question.  She  restricted  her  own  physical  needs  to  the 
lowest  point  possible,  that  she  might  be  able  to  give  more 
bounteously  to  the  poor,  and  had  not  obedience  re- 
strained her,  would  have  given  everything  away  to  the  poor 
members  of  Jesus  Christ. 

In  the  exercise  of  love,  her  catholic  heart  recognized  no 
limitations  of  country  or  of  creed.  She  frequently  sent  to 


2io        The  Life  qf  yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

sick  Lutherans  victuals  which  she  had  in  secret  prepared, 
appropriate  to  their  particular  sickness.  "  For,"  she  said, 
"  every  one  is  my  neighbor  ;  the  command  to  love  excepts 
no  one."  Such  heroic  love  for  her  neighbor  renders  cred- 
ible the  reports  that  Christ  Himself  and  some  Saints  ap- 
peared to  her  several  times  in  the  form  of  the  poor,  and  re- 
ceived at  her  hands  the  gift  of  charity.  The  like  occur- 
rence is  related  of  many  of  the  Saints. 

The  following  instance  is  related  by  Father  Ott  *  and 
Sister  M.  Gabriel :'  On  a  cold,  wintry  day  a  miserable  old 
beggar  came  to  the  convent  door  and  asked  Crescentia  for 
a  pair  of  shoes.  Full  of  compassion,  she  ran  through  the 
whole  convent  to  get  a  pair  of  old  shoes  from  somebody. 
When  she  returned  to  the  Superioress  with  empty  hands, 
she  knelt  down  before  her  and  most  earnestly  begged  to  be 
permitted  to  pull  off  her  own  shoes,  and  to  offer  them  to 
the  poor  man.  Having  at  length  obtained  permission  to 
do  this,  she  joyfully  gave  the  poor  man  her  shoes.  He 
immediately  vanished,  leaving,  however,  bloody  foot-prints 
on  the  spot  where  He  had  stood.  By  this,  it  became  known 
to  whom  Crescentia  had  had  the  happiness  of  giving  alms. 
In  a  document  signed  on  August  28th,  1752,  by  several 
Sisters,  and  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  convent  at  Kauf- 
beuren,  several  similar  cases  are  stated  :  especially  that 
Christ,  at  one  time  in  the  form  of  a  poor  priest,  at  another 
in  that  of  a  pilgrim,  had  asked  Crescentia  for  the  alms  of  a 
dinner.  But  as  these  facts  have  not  been  sufficiently 
proved,  we  give  them  but  a  casual  mention. 

"We  conclude  this  chapter  with  the  beautiful  eulogy  pro- 
nounced on  her  by  a  witness  in  the  canonical  process  : 
"  Nobody  ever  came  in  contact  with  her,  without  receiving 
from  her  light,  consolation,  and  assistance."  It  is  infallibly 
true  that,  "  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother,  whom  he 
seeth,  how  can  he  love  God,  whom  he  seeth  not  ?"  4  It  is 
certain,  beyond  a  doubt,  that  every  Christian  must  render 

»  Sumrn.  N.  10,  8  177.  *  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  6. 

'  Gabriel,  p.  12*  *  1-  John  Iv.  30. 


Love  for  the  Soitls  in  Purgatory.         211 

a  strict  account  at  the  tribunal  of  Christ,  as  to  whether  he 
has  paid  the  tribute  of  love  to  his  Kedeemer  through  the 
hands  of  his  fellow-men. 

Therefore,  0  Christian,  look  up  to  Him  who  is  at  once 
your  Eedeemer  and  your  Judge,  and  listen  to  the  assurance 
He  gives  you  that  He  will  look  upon  everything  done  to  or 
withheld  from  your  neighbor,  as  done  to  or  withheld  from 
Himself;  having  done  this,  ponder  over  the  words:  "  Judge 
not  and  you  shall  not  be  judged.  Condemn  not,  and  you 
shall  not  be  condemned.  Forgive  and  you  shall  be  forgiven. 
Give  and  it  shall  be  given  to  you."  ' 


CHAPTER    X. 

On  the  Love  and  Assistance  Conferred  by  Cres- 
centia  on  the  Suffering  Souls  in  Purgatory.4 

HE  thoroughly  catholic  heart  of  Ven.  Sister 
Crescentia,  which  embraced  the  whole  communion 
of  Saints,  felt  so  great  a  compassion  for  the  help- 
less and  suffering  souls  who  are  detained  in  purgatory  to  be 
purified  for  Heaven,  that  a  mother's  heart  could  scarcely 
sympathize  more  with  the  sufferings  of  her  sickly  babe, 
than  she  sympathized  with  them.  Her  heart,  therefore^ 
continually  urged  her  to  use  all  the  means  to  help  them 
which  the  communion  of  Saints  offers  to  its  militant  mem- 
bers here  on  earth  through  the  teaching  of  the  Church.  She 
was  ready  joyfully  to  accept  all  the  pain  and  affliction  pos- 
sible for  their  welfare.  She  had,  as  she  states  herself,  made 
as  it  were  of  herself  a  voluntary  sacrifice  of  propitiation 
to  the  Lord  on  their  behalf,  beseeching  Him  to  let  her  suffer 
all  their  sufferings  by  virtue  of  the  passion  of  Christ, 
that  she  might  in  their  state  satisfy  the  divine  justice. 

1  Luke  vi.  3T,  38.  8  Summ.  N.  10. 


212        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Consequently,  every  day  she  did  what  she  could  to  help 
them;  she  said  many  fervent  prayers,  practised  severe  works 
of  penance  and  offered  up  her  sufferings  for  them;  in  a 
word,  like  the  widow  in  the  Gospel,  she  threw  the  whole  of 
her  property,  her  entire  living,  that  is,  all  her  works  of  satis- 
faction for  temporal  punishment  due  to  sins,  into  the 
treasury  of  the  Church,  in  favor  of  those  who  have  to  pay 
their  debts  to  the  last  farthing  in  the  other  world.  She 
also  recommended  the  practice  to  others,  especially  to  her 
Sisters  in  religion.  Many  were  induced  by  her,  not  only  to 
perform  many  good  works  with  this  intention,  but  to  give 
to  the  poor  souls  whatever  they  had  acquired  as  a  satisfac- 
tion to  offer  to  God,  for  the  payment  of  their  temporal 
penalties  for  sin.  This  heroic  act  of  love,  which,  as  is  well 
known,  has  of  late  been  recommended  by  the  Holy  See,  and 
enriched  with  special  indulgences,  she  practised  in  prefer- 
ence to  all  others.  Even  on  her  death-bed  she,  as  her 
confessor,  Father  Pamer,  relates,  appointed  the  suffering 
souls  as  her  universal  heirs,  and  willed  to  them  not  only 
her  past  good  works,  as  far  as  they  were  competent  to  dis- 
charge temporal  debts  for  sin,  but  also  all  the  holy  Masses, 
prayers,  and  indulgences  which  others  might  offer  up  for 
her  after  her  death.1  Such  love  naturally  evoked  recipro- 
cal love  and  served  to  knit  more  closely  the  ties  of  love 
which  the  spirit  of  Christ  has,  in  a  mysterious  manner,  cast 
around  His  living  members,  thereby  elevating  their  inter- 
course in  an  extraordinary  manner  to  a  full  consciousness 
of  their  mutual  bearing.  We  must  first  remark  that 
Crescentia,  on  her  side,  believed  that  she  had  many  times 
received  help  from  the  poor  souls  in  purgatory  when  she 
prayed  to  them. 

She  acknowledged,  that  when  she  desired  a  peculiarly 
great  favor  from  God  for  herself  or  others,  she  also 
invoked  the  "  beloved  poor  souls/'  and  that  then  her  prayers 
were  usually  answered  at  once.  She  entertained  the 
conviction,  which  is  now  almost  universal  among  Catholic 

1  Suram.  N.  10,  8  181. 


Love  for  the  Souls  in  Purgatory.         213 

people,  that  the  souls  in  purgatory,  who  can  no  longer 
merit  anything  for  themselves,  can  show  their  love  effec  - 
ively  by  praying  for  the  members  of  the  Church  militant. 
Moreover,  by  permission  of  God,  such  souls  often  appeared 
to  her,  detailing  their  sufferings  and  appealing  to  her  for 
help.  Her  compassion  was  in  this  way  increased  beyond 
measure  ;  she  could  not  allow  herself  to  rest  until  she  had 
obtained  for  them  either  relief  or  deliverance.  Souls  thus 
liberated  often  returned  to  her  in  great  glory  to  thank  her, 
and  to  let  her  who  had  had  so  much  compassion  on  their 
sufferings  participate  in  some  degree  in  their  present  jo}r. 
It  can  scarcely  be  told  what  hard  sacrifices  were  laid  on 
the  servant  of  God,  by  this  frequent  intercourse  with  the 
souls  in  purgatory.  Her  night's  rest,  already  so  short,  was 
in  this  way  often  completely  taken  from  her.  Scarcely 
had  she  gone  to  sleep  when  she  was  awakened  by  the 
groans  or  speech  of  such  a  soul,  after  which  sleep  was  no 
longer  to  be  thought  of  ;  she  had  to  pray  or  to  chastise 
her  innocent  body.  It  was  the  general  conviction  of  those 
who  knew  of  her  interior  life  that  she  had  brought  effective 
assistance  to  a  great  many  souls.  We  gather  from  our 
sources  of  information  some  instances  which  will  cast  a 
light  on  this  intercourse,  and  are  to  a  great  extent  deserving 
of  attention. 

In  1718,  Mother  Johanna  Altweger  '  asked  Crescentia, 
when  she  was  very  sick,  whether  she  could  sleep. 
She  said  she  could  not,  and  on  being  further  ques- 
tioned, acknowledged  that  the  poor  souls  appeared  to  her 
and  that  their  moaning,  and  groaning,  and  urgent  prayers 
rendered  sleep  impossible.  The  compassionate  Superior- 
ess thought  that  she  must  now  interfere,  and  said  :  "  You 
must  have  rest,  absolutely,  else  you  cannot  stand  it  in  the 
long  run;  so  if  the  poor  souls  return  to-night,  tell  them  to 
go  to  the  Mother  ;  obedience  now  requires  that  you  should 
sleep."  The  servant  of  God  punctually  obeyed  ;  but  the 
poor  Mother  no  sooner  saw  and  heard  these  apparitions 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Object.  N.  11,  §  10.— Ott,  B.  III.  C.  5. 


214        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

in  her  own  cell  than,  struck  with  fear  and  terror,  she  could 
find  no  other  escape  than  to  send  them  again  to  the 
good  sick  Sister.  She  herself  told  this  occurrence  on  the 
next  day  to  several  Sisters  (some  of  them  bore  wit- 
ness to  it  in  the  canonical  process),  and  she  added 
that  she  never  again,  during  her  life,  would  make  a 
similar  attempt. 

We  take  the  following  from  Father  Ott  : ' 

Father  Ignatius  Wagener  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  a  man 
of  great  piety,  erudition,  and  experience,  who  from  October, 
1713,  to  the  autumn  of  1715,  had  been  at  the  head  of  the 
house  of  the  Society  in  Kaufbeuren,  had,  at  the  special  wish 
of  the  Father  Provincial,  Sebastian  Hoss,  0.  S.  F.,  under- 
taken a  particular  investigation  of  the  spirit  of  the  servant 
of  God.  Through  this,  he  himself  had  been  filled  with  a 
high  degree  of  veneration  and  admiration  for  her,  and 
had  directed  her  with  great  circumspection  and  charity. 
This  had,  on  her  part,  led  her  to  feel  the  greatest  gratitude 
and  veneration  for  him.  This  Father  died  October  19, 
1716,  at  Regensburg,  to  which  place  he  had  been  removed 
the  year  before.  The  notice  of  his  death  arrived  at  Kauf- 
beuren on  the  21st  of  the  same  month.  At  the  Angelus 
bell  on  the  evening  of  the  19th,  Crescentia,  when  go- 
ing to  the  choir,  noticed  a  white  shadow  advancing  before 
her ;  as  the  poor  souls  frequently  appeared  to  her  under 
that  form,  she  contented  herself  with  offering  up  some  fer- 
vently devout  prayers  for  this  unknown  soul.  On  the  21st, 
however,  the  soul  appeared  to  her  in  the  form  of  the  de- 
ceased Father,  stating  that  he  had  not  been  permitted  to 
make  himself  known  to  her  the  first  time.  He  asked  her 
help,  with  God,  that  he  might  soon  get  to  see  the  desired 
face  of  the  Lord  ;  he  added  that  he  suffered  no  pain  in  the 
senses,  but  that  he  was  kept  away  from  the  vision  of  God, 
because,  during  his  life-time,  his  desire  for  that  vision  of 
God  had  been  so  feeble,  and  now  this  desire  has  become  his 
greatest  torment  and  punishment.  It  need  scarcely  be 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  6,  and  B.  in.  C.  3. 


Love  for  the  Souls  in  Purgatory.          2 1  5 

mentioned  that  she  did  all  she  could  to  help  this,  her  spir- 
itual father  ;  and  on  October  23d,  when  she  had  prayed 
for  him  with  great  fervor  at  the  holy  Mass  said  for  him, 
she  had  the  consolation  of  seeing  this  same  soul,  surrounded 
with  celestial  splendor  ;  he  appeared  to  her,  thanked  her, 
and  assured  her,  that  with  her  assistance  he  was  inexpress- 
ibly happy  in  the  possession  of  the  Sovereign  Good. ' 

The  soul  of  one  of  the  Sisters  of  the  convent  who  had 
been  dead  six  years,  appeared  to  her  and  begged  for  help 
with  the  piteous  words  :  "  Oh,  how  I  thirst  for  the  strong 
and  living  God  !  Oh,  help  me,  who  am  unable  to  help 
myself  ! "  Bitterly  weeping,  Crescentia  promised  to  do  all 
that  lay  in  her  power,  and  shortly  afterwards  she  received 
the  assurance  that  this  soul  was  redeemed. 

While  Cresceutia  was  yet  in  the  novitiate,  and  was  one 
evening  on  a  fast-day  partaking  of  a  meagre  collation  with 
the  other  Sisters,  the  door  of  the  refectory  was  suddenly 
thrown  open,  and  as  suddenly  closed.  The  Sisters  were  so 
much  frightened  that  no  one  ventured  to  go  out  to  see  what 
might  be  the  cause  of  so  strange  an  occurrence.  Crescen- 
tia alone  was  not  alarmed,  and  immediately  offered  herself 
to  Mother  Theresa  Schmid,  to  go  and  see  if  any  one  was  out- 
side. The  Mother  Superior  bade  her  go,  and  she  went  and 
saw  a  nun,  who  said  in  a  pitiful  tone  that  she  had  formerly 
been  in  that  convent,  and  had  already  for  nine  years  been 
suffering  in  purgatory.  She  begged  for  assistance  that  she 
might  be  soon  freed,  and  specified  certain  prayers  and  good 
works  to  be  offered  for  that  purpose.  This  was  done,  and 
by  Crescentia  especially  with  the  greatest  fervor  ;  she  soon 
had  the  consolation  of  being  assured  of  that  soul's  redemp- 
tion. 

1  The  opinion  that  some  souls  in  purgatory  suffer  only  the  punishment  of  loss  and 
not  that  of  the  senses,  and  that  this  is  on  account  of  the  want  of  desire  to  see  God, 
is  defendsd  by  many  theologians,  among  others  by  Cardinal  Bellarmine.  Many  ap- 
paritions of  souls,  recognized  as  of  known  sanctity,  favor  this  notion.  The  story  of 
a  particularly  remarkable  apparition  and  similar  to  the  one  related  above,  is  related 
in  the  life  of  a  great  servant  of  God,  Clara  Gherzi,  Abbess  of  the  Poor  Clares  at  Gub- 
Wo;  she  died  In  1801,  and  the  processor  her  beatification  Is  already  far  advanced. 
Her  life  Is  written  by  Father  Capistranua,  General  of  the  Franciscans- 


2 16        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Even  the  souls  of  the  faithful  departed  whom  she  had  never 
seen,  and  who  had  died  in  distant  lands,  had  recourse  to 
her  for  assistance.  Once,  for  three  nights  in  succession, 
she  heard  a  moaning  in  her  cell,  without  any  words.  She 
then  asked  the  soul  who  it  was.  A  voice  replied  that  it 
was  the  soul  of  a  young  deceased  soldier  of  the  Count's 
body  guard  at  Munich  :  that  he  had  lately  been  present  at 
the  convent  of  Kaufbeuren,  to  witness  the  profession  of  his 
own  sister,  M.  Elizabeth  ; '  that  he  had  shortened  his  own 
life  by  immoderate  drinking,  and  must  suffer  the  tempo- 
ral punishment  for  this  fault,  by  enduring  inexpressible  tor- 
ments. If  she  did  not  come  to  his  help,  he  would  have  to 
suffer  as  many  years  as  he  had  cut  off  from  his  own  life  by 
intemperance.  She  did  a  great  deal  for  this  soul,  and  af- 
ter a  while  saw  it  enter  Heaven  gloriously. 

But  the  most  remarkable  history  is  the  following,  which 
we  relate,  following  strictly  the  same  authority  :  In  the 
year  1718,  on  November  21st,  Mr.  Francis  Joseph  Scholl 
died.  He  had  been  counsellor  to  the  court,  and  adminis- 
trator of  an  important  office  at  the  Count's  court  in 
Kemnat.  On  the  same  day  on  which  he  died,  Crescentia 
heard  a  peculiar  fingering  and  rattling  among  the  papers 
in  her  cell,  which  was  repeated  in  the  evening  and  early 
the  next  morning,  although  she  had  earnestly  prayed  for 
the  soul  who  had  probably  caused  it.  On  the  morning  of 
the  22d,  she  asked  who  was  there.  Then  she  distinctly 
heard:  "I  am  the  soul  of  Scholl,  dear  Crescentia,  pray 
for  me  to  your  Beloved. "  She  then  asked  what  was  the 
meaning  of  the  noise  among  the  papers.  He  answered, 
that  he  would  return  to  her  several  times,  and  as  soon 
as  God  permitted  it,  would  tell  her  the  reason  of  it. 
Thenceforward,  she  noticed  the  noise  among  the  papers 
every  day,  thereby  divining  the  presence  of  the  soul. 
During  the  night  of  December  7th,  the  same  voice  spoke 
more  particularly  to  her,  stating  that  in  his  last  sickness 

1  A  Sister  by  the  name  of  M.  Elizabeth  Krlraer  died  In  the  Convent  of  Kaufbeuren 
Dec.  13, 1767, -born  Aug.  11,  1686. 


Love  for  the  Souls  in  Purgatory.          217 

he  had  intended  to  settle  all  his  affairs  ;  that  somebody 
had  come  to  him  to  complain  of  having  been  wronged  in  a 
certain  matter  ;  that  he  had  sent  the  man  away  with  a  few 
short  and  harsh  words,  giving  him  to  understand  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  showing  of  his  papers,  no  wrong  had  been 
done  him.  He  (Scholl)  had  made  a  mistake  in  this  and 
was  not  without  fault  in  doing  so :  the  complainant 
had  really  been  defrauded  of  four  florins.  He  then  asked 
the  servant  of  God  to  speak  to  the  parish  priest  at  Kemnat 
and  get  him  to  persuade  his  wife  to  make  good  the  damage. 
On  the  Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  December  8th, 
Crescentia  told  all  this  to  the  parish  priest  of  Kemnat,  Dr. 
Philip  James  Meichelbeck,  who  was  at  that  time  the  father 
confessor  of  the  convent.  He  at  once  remembered  that  a 
man,  whose  name  he  mentioned,  had,  on  November  3d, 
complained  to  him  of  the  wrong  suffered,  and  of  the  harsh 
words  of  the  deceased  councilman,  and  strangely  enough, 
the  man  had  repeated  the  same  words  that  Cresceutia  had 
heard  from  the  apparition.  The  wrong  was  repaired  at 
once  :  the  rattling  in  the  papers  ceased ;  not  so,  however, 
the  moaning  and  entreaties  of  the  deceased,  for  these  were 
especially  urgent  on  Christmas  eve.  Immediately  after 
New  Year  the  apparition  told  her  that  God  had  announced 
to  him,  by  his  guardian  angel,  a  speedy  delivery.  On  Jan- 
uary 6th,  1710,  Crescentia  had  offered  up,  for  that  soul, 
four  holy  Masses,  which  four  priests  had  promised  her  to  say 
on  that  day.  The  last  of  these  Masses  was  said  between  ten 
and  eleven  o'clock,  and  at  the  same  time  the  deceased  ap- 
peared to  her  in  wondrous  splendor,  and  thanked  her  for  her 
help  ;  she  then  saw  in  spirit  how  that  soul  was  conducted 
by  the  angels  into  Heaven,  and  received  with  infinite  joy  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God.  At  the  end  of  this  report  Father 
Ott  says  :  "  Dr.  Meichelbeck,  parish  priest  of  Kemnat  and 
confessor  of  the  convent,  to  whom  Cresceutia  had  to  tell 
every  particular  of  this  occurrence,  wrote  out  the  whole 
history  in  all  its  details,  giving  all  the  circumstances  in  such 
a  manner  that  we  cannot  doubt  the  truth  of  it," 


218        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

And  now,  having  related  so  many  apparitions  of  these 
poor  souls,  we  can  scarcely  suppress  the  remark  that  on 
this  field,  fallacies  or  even  deceptions  may  very  easily  creep 
in,  and  that  unless  such  reports  are  attested  by  persons  of 
extraordinary  sanctity  and  of  supernatural  knowledge,  as 
was  the  case  with  Ven.  M.  Crescentia,  prudence  requires 
caution  in  giving  credit  to  them.  To  deny  the  principle 
on  which  they  are  founded  is  scarcely  reconcilable  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  Communion  of  Saints,  or  with  the  respect 
due  to  the  thousands  of  Saints  who  maintain  that  they  had 
similar  apparitions.  The  Catholic  Faith  does  not  by  any 
means  rest  on  the  private  revelations  of  individuals,  but 
on  the  Word  of  God  deposited  in  the  Church  in  verbal  and 
written  form,  laid  by  her  before  the  faithful  and  explained 
with  infallible  certainty.  This  Holy  Church  teaches  us  : ' 
"  That  there  is  a  purgatory,  and  that  souls  detained  there 
maybe  helped  by  the  prayers  of  the  faithful,  but  especially 
by  the  sacrifice  of  the  altar,  so  pleasing  to  God." 

This  faith  must  be  the  rule  of  our  actions.  The  appari- 
tions and  revelations  mentioned  above  may,  however,  help 
us  to  practise  more  and  more  catholic  love  towards  these 
holy,  but  helpless  suffering  souls.  Therefore,  0  Christian ! 
do  for  them  what  you  would  have  done  to  yourself  when 
you  yourself  suffer  in  this  purifying  fire  :  "It  is,  therefore, 
a  holy  and  wholesome  thought  to  pray  for  the  dead,  that 
they  may  be  loosed  from  sins."  * 

*  Trid.  Sess.  25.  -  II.  Much.  ill.  46. 


CHAPTER  XL 
Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross. ' 

HO  shall  find  a  valiant  woman  ?  the  price  of  her  is 
from  afar  off  and  from  the  uttermost  coasts."' 
This  high  praise  of  the  Holy  Ghost  the  servant 
of  God  deserved  in  a  rare  degree.  She  trod  from  her 
infancy  the  rough  paths  of  the  most  difficult  exercises  of 
virtue  and  of  fearful  suffering  without,  so  far  as  the  eye 
could  detect,  swerving  one  moment  from  the  difficult  task, 
or  wavering  under  the  heavy  pressure  of  the  cross  which 
God  had  laid  upon  her.  We  do  not  know  which  to  admire 
the  more  in  her,  the  spirit  of  fortitude  in  her  actions,  or 
the  patience,  joy,  and  love  she  showed  in  suffering.  In  both 
respects  we  encounter  a  superhuman  strength  in  the  weak- 
ness of  her  sex.  She  herself  points  out  the  source  of  her 
strength  in  the  beautiful  expression  :  "  The  true  means 
of  being  immovable  is,  0  Lord,  no  other  than  to  adhere 
to  Thee." 

A  retrospective  view  of  what  we  have  already  related 
shows  us  with  what  admirable  fortitude  she  trod  the  most 
sublime  paths  of  mortification  and  of  self-denial,  overcom- 
ing all  obstacles ;  and  not  that  alone,  but  constantly  ad- 
vancing in  the  steps  of  a  higher  progress,  subduing  all 
natural  feelings,  even  the  most  justifiable,  in  order  to  attain 
her  one  end  and  aim,  that  of  the  Supreme  Good.  How 
courageously  did  she  not  keep  her  heart  from  the  world, 
even  when  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  to  keep  it  filled  with 
God  Himself!  How  she  stept  over  the  love  she  bore  to  her 
family,  to  seek  the  Crucified  in  the  convent  !  and  when  in 
the  years  of  her  novitiate,  mountains  of  difficulties  and 
temptations  towered  up  to  assail  her,  the  tender  virgin 
never  looked  back,  but  removed  all  the  mountains  by  faith. 
She  never  withdrew  her  foot  from  the  path  of  self-denial 

1  Summ.  N.  16,  8  1-122.— Act.  B.  Inform.  8  206-218.  2  Prov.  xxxi.  10. 


220         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

and  suffering.  The  repugnance  of  nature,  the  contradic- 
tions of  men,  the  most  violent  persecutions  of  the  world 
and  of  hell  could  neither  turn  her  away  from  the  straight 
and  narrow  path,  nor  retard  her  progress  thereon.  Faith- 
ful unto  death,  forever  fighting  and  gloriously  conquering, 
she  followed  the  sorrowful  road  of  the  imitation  of  Christ, 
and  because,  here  below,  she  sowed  in  tears,  we  have  reason 
to  believe  that  the  seed  thus  sown  has  ripened  to  a  won- 
derful harvest  in  Heaven. 

To  conquer  one's  self  is,  even  according  to  the  heathen  of 
antiquity,  an  indication  of  a  higher  degree  of  courage 
than  to  fight  with  one's  enemies.  According  to  this  meas- 
ure, Crescentia  is  a  heroine  of  the  first  rank.  The  natu- 
rally powerful  feelings  of  hope  and  fear,  joy  and  sorrow, 
were  so  completely  subjected  to  her  will,  that  no  worldly 
consideration  could  influence  her,  even  in  the  smallest 
things.  She  was  as  if  dead  to  the  enticements  and  threat- 
eniugs  of  the  world.  In  every  lawful  matter  she  preferred 
the  will  of  others  to  her  own,  with  the  greatest  readiness  ; 
but  firm  and  unyielding,  full  of  calm  and  peace,  she  was 
not  to  be  persuaded  by  any  mockery  and  persecution  to  de- 
viate from  the  road  pointed  out  by  obedience  and  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Peace  was  always  present  with  her  ;  she  smiled 
amidst  the  greatest  storms  and  sufferings  ;  there  was  no 
trace  of  cowardice  in  her,  but  also  no  bragging  of  heroism. 
She  did  not  shrink  from  telling  the  bitter  truth,  even  to 
persons  of  high -standing,  when  the  spirit  of  God  moved  her 
so  to  do  ;  nor,  when  Superioress,  did  she  hesitate  to  curb 
faults  and  put  an  end  to  abuses,  but  she  did  it  with  such 
prudence,  love,  and  firmness,  that  no  one  resisted  her. 
The  boldest  mocker  was  silenced  by  her  glance,  and  hard- 
ened sinners  bowed  their  stubborn  heads  before  her  admoni- 
tions. Yet,  she  ever  preserved  a  modest,  disciplined  de- 
portment, without  showing  coldness  or  repugnance.  She 
was  full  of  love  without  particular  attachments,  pious 
and  meek,  thoughtful,  amiable,  and  regularity  itself,  with- 
out pedantry.  There  was  no  affectation  or  coquetry  in  her 


Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross.        221 

behavior,    all   was  nature   and    grace  ;  a  noble  soul  and 
God  were  mirrored  in  every  word,  in  every  movement. 

Fortitude  of  soul  manifests  itself  yet  more  in  suffering 
than  in  action  ;  and  on  this  stage  of  suffering,  where  we 
can  least  hide  ourselves  behind  a  deceitful  mask,  God  re- 
vealed, in  the  highest  degree,  the  spirit  of  courage  He  had 
laid  in  this  tender  heart.  What  St.  Paul  writes  of  the 
Philippians  was  accomplished  in  her  in  the  highest  de- 
gree: "  For  unto  you  it  is  given  for  Christ,  not  only  to 
believe  in  Him,  but  also  to  suffer  for  Him."  In  love  to 
suffer  with  Christ,  means  also  to  suffer  for  Him,  and 
this  was  granted  to  her  abundantly.  She  considered  all 
her  sufferings  as  graces.  She  once  said:  "One  of  the 
greatest  signs  that  God  cares  for  me  is  this,  that  He  al- 
ways gives  me  opportunities  to  suffer  something  for  Him." 
She  said,  "  to  suffer  something,"  yet  at  times  she  expressed 
herself  like  this:  "I  suffer  nothing  at  all,  and  have  never 
suffered  anything,  although  I  am  the  greatest  sinner  ! "  But 
it  was  her  insatiable  desire  for  suffering  which  applied  this 
depreciating  view  to  torments,  which  to  ordinary  human 
nature  appeared  terrible,  nay,  insupportable.  Father  Ott a 
says  with  justice:  "  Under  the  special  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  an  extraordinary  gift  of  fortitude,  she, 
during  the  forty  years  of  her  convent  life,  had  borne  and 
stood  firm  under  such  great  and  terrible  trials  that  even 
a  man's  heart  shudders  at  the  mere  recital  of  them."  The 
reader  already  knows  that  envy,  calumny,  and  persecution, 
which,  like  lightning,  like  best  to  strike  the  heights  and 
summits  of  Virtue,  poured  forth  their  whole  rage  on  Cres- 
centia,  that  the  devils  tormented  her  in  their  most  cruel 
fashion,  that  she  suffered  continually  from  physical  pain, 
and  frequently  even  more  severely  by  interior  spiritual  dis- 
tress. In  regard  to  her  bodily  condition,  this,  at  its  best, 
would  have  been  a  state  of  severe  suffering  for  other 
people.  Within  she  was  consumed  by  a  constant  fever,  and  a 
tormenting  thirst,  which  she  neither  could  nor  would  quench, 

*  Philip,  i.  29.  "  Ott,  B.  III.  C.  13. 


222        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

as  the  luke-warm  water  which  she  drank  rather  in- 
creased than  lessened  it.  To  this  were  added  extremely 
painful  head-aches,  and  frequently  still  more  painful  tooth- 
aches, while  from  time  to  time  came  severe  and  painful 
sicknesses  of  a  serious  character. 

In  all  her  sufferings  she  showed  not  only  an  admirable 
patience  and  resignation,  but — and  this  is  at  once  the  test 
and  the  summit  of  Christian  patience — a  veritable  joy  in 
and  with  suffering,  and  a  great  desire  to  suffer  more.  She 
sought  no  alleviation,  and  only  from  obedience  took  the 
medicine  prescribed,  which  for  the  most  part  rather  in- 
creased than  lessened  her  malady.  When  told  to  ask 
God  to  diminish  her  suffering,  she  replied:  "What!  am  I 
to  ask  my  Jesus  not  to  permit  me  to  follow  Him  in  His 
sufferings  ?  If  I  could  turn  away  from  me  all  crosses  and 
pains  by  saying  a  single  Hail  Mary,  I  would  not  say  it  for 
that  purpose." 

Not  one  of  her  Sisters  in  religion  ever  heard  her  utter  a 
word  of  complaint,  either  about  her  suffering  or  concerning 
the  neglect  to  which  she  was  exposed  by  the  indiscretion  of 
others.  Not  even  the  ordinary  complaint  of  heat,  cold,  or 
other  inconveniences,  which  so  easily  escapes  one's  lips, 
ever  came  from  her,  and  what  is  still  more,  no  one  ever  re- 
marked in  her  any  sign  of  sadness,  dejection,  or  despond- 
ency, on  account  of  personal  suffering,  and  yet  such  some- 
times occurs  in  the  hour  of  weakness  to  the  strongest 
hearts.  "  Indeed,"  she  once  said,  "  I  do  not  know  what 
despondency  is."  This  fortitude  in  suffering  is  more  than 
human,  its  source  can  be  in  God  alone,  as  a  remark  of  hers 
clearly  indicates  :  once  when  suffering  acutely,  she  was 
asked  if  she  did  not  wish  for  a  stimulant ;  she  answered : 
"  The  will  of  God  is  strength,  and  it  is  stimulant  enough 
for  me." 

She  had  given  herself  up  so  completely  to  God,  that  the 
most  painful  sufferings  could  not  compel  her  to  desire  an 
alleviation  of  them.  Her  will  rested  so  completely  in  the 
divine  will,  that  she  did  not  in  the  least  wish  to  know  what 


Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross.       223 

the  future  might  have  in  store  for  her.  Once  she  said:  "A 
religious  person  must  not  busy  herself  with  troublesome 
thoughts  concerning  the  future;  her  sole  solicitude  should 
be  now  to  love  God  above  all  things,  and  serve  Him  with 
all  her  strength.  The  anxiety  as  to  what  will  become  of  the 
soul  and  body  at  some  future  time,  we  must  leave  to  God 
alone,  as  the  all-providing  and  merciful  Father."  This 
calmness  and  resignation  in  suffering  increased  to  such  a 
degree  that  she  knew  how  to  draw  from  it,  not  alone  no 
sadness,  but  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  Her  motto 
was:  "  On  earth  nothing  is  great  and  sweet  till  it  is  crushed 
and  roasted/'  and  of  herself  she  said:  "To  love  God 
and  to  suffer  for  Him  are  the  two  props  of  my  life." 

That  these  were  not  mere  empty  forms  of  speech  is 
proved  by  her  whole  life,  especially  by  her  behavior  in 
severe  sicknesses.  Father  Ott '  relates  a  special  instance  of 
this  :  In  a  severe  sickness,  she  was  once  cramped  in  her 
hands  and  feet,  or  rather,  by  a  contraction  of  the  nerves, 
her  feet  were  bent  backward  in  such  a  way  that  she  had  to 
lie  in  bed  rolled  iip  like  a  ball,  in  inexpressible  pain.  The 
pains  were  worst  in  the  back  and  between  the  shoulders. 
Yet  her  courage  and  peace  of  mind  never  wavered.  She  re- 
turned a  thousand  thanks  to  her  Redeemer,  asserting,  with 
a  cheerful  countenance,  that  these  pains  were  specially  dear 
to  her,  because  they  continually  reminded  her  of  Christ's 
carrying  His  cross.  Nay,  the  force  of  love  so  controlled 
the  feeling  of  pain,  that  she  often  broke  forth  with  the 
words  :  "  0  ye  my  bones  !  praise  the  Lord,  for  having  given 
you  the  capability  of  suffering."  Many  days  and  nights 
she  lay  upon  this  rack.  At  length  her  guardian  angel  ap- 
peared to  her,  and  promised  that  on  the  next  day,  after  Holy 
Communion,  she  should  get  well.  In  the  natural  course 
of  things,  this  was  impossible.  Yet  after  Holy  Commun- 
ion she  arose  from  her  sick-bed  in  good  health,  to  the  won- 
der and  admiration  of  everybody. 

Her  joy  in  suffering  was  bound  up  with  a  genuine  hun- 
1  ott,  B.  ii.  c.  is. 


224        The  Life  of  /?//.  Mary  Crescent  la. 

ger  for  still  greater  sufferings.  She  li;i«l  recognized  the 
treasure  that  lies  hid  in  suffering,  and  maintained  that  it 
surpassed  all  understanding,  that  all  the  honors,  dignities, 
and  riches  of  the  world,  taken  together,  could  not  compare 
with  the  slightest  degree  of  contempt  borne  for  the  love  of 
God.  In  this  spirit  she  prayed  for  suffering  as  for  an  un- 
deserved grace,  and  loved  to  repeat  these  words  of  a  Saint : 
"  Lord,  not  to  die,  but  to  suffer."  She  expresses  this  senti- 
ment very  beautifully  in  a  little  prayer  which  she  wrote  in 
1727,  and  which  she  often  repeated  ;  it  is  :  "0  Lord, 
love  for  love,  suffering  for  suffering,  pain  for  pain,  mock- 
ery for  mockery,  contempt  for  contempt,  life  for  life, 
wounds  for  wounds,  death  for  death — and  all  this  for  no 
other  reward  than  love."1  In  like  manner,  she  expressed 
herself  in  the  follow  ing  words  :  "  Lord,  let  the  reward 
of  my  love  be  pain  and  sorrow  !  And  as  a  recompense  for 
the  calumnies  I  have  undergone,  heap  upon  me  new  con- 
tempt, inflict  on  me  new  and  deeper  woiinds ;  for  that 
love  which  has  no  desire  to  accomplish  great  things  and  to 
bear  heavy  crosses,  is  no  love  at  all  ;  it  is  not  fire,  it  is  an 
icicle.  If  you  were  to  put  in  one  scale  all  the  mockeries 
and  sicknesses,  fire  and  sword,  and  every  imaginable  evil, 
and  in  the  other,  all  the  pleasures,  riches,  and  amusements 
of  the  world,  I  would  turn  my  back  on  the  pleasures  and 
treasures  of  the  world,  and  with  outstretched  arms  hasten 
to  the  torments  and  contempt ;  nay,  my  greatest  desire 
would  be  to  rush  forward  to  meet  the  most  agonizing  death. " 
Even  in  the  last?  years  of  her  life  she  once,  on  her  knees, 
besought  the  Father  Provincial,  Boniface  Schmidt,  0.  S.  F., 
to  pray  to  God  for  that  singular  grace  that  she  might  not  be  at 
any  time  without  suffering,  and  that  he,  the  Provincial, 
would  also  grant  her  the  merit  of  obedience  in  all  her  suffer- 
ings. When  he  consented,  she  was  extraordinarily  glad,  be- 
cause she  now  believed  herself  to  be  more  like  Christ,  who 
suffered  so  much,  out  of  obedience  to  His  Heavenly 
Father.  This  glowing  thirst  for  suffering  remained  in  uu- 

1  Kolb,  p.  33. 


Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross.     225 

diminished  vigor  until  death  ;  it  stood  firm  under  every 
trial,  and  under  the  pressure  of  suffering  burst  forth  more 
powerfully  than  before,  increasing  in  flame  like  a  furious 
fire  under  a  jet  of  water.  She  then  prayed  in  a  cheerful 
tone  and  with  a  sweet  voice  :  "  0  my  God,  I  thank  Thee 
a  thousand  times  !  Increase  my  torments,  but  increase  my 
patience  also.  My  heart  is  ready,  0  God,  my  heart  is  ready 
to  suffer  all,  as  it  pleases  Thee!"  If  she  were  asked,  when 
suffering  thus,  how  she  was,  she  would  answer:  "Quite 
well,  since  I  am  fulfilling  God's  will."  To  love  and  to  suf- 
fer were  the  same  thing  to  her  ;  and  since  her  life  was  en- 
tirely consecrated  to  love,  we  may  well  understand  how  she 
could  assert  the  principle  :  "  There  is  no  cross  like  that  of 
living  without  a  cross."  This  is,  indeed,  a  complete  con- 
version of  nature,  it  is  the  triumph  of  grace.  The  great 
God  who,  as  the  Eev.  Alban  Stoltz  asserts,  has  decreed  for 
His  elect,  "a  sword  through  the  heart  on  earth,  and  in 
Heaven  a  crown  on  the  head,"  breathes  into  His  Saints 
the  sentiments  which  correspond  to  so  noble  a  destiny. 
This  love  of  the  cross  showed  itself  prominently  in  Cres- 
centia.  Whoever  beheld  her  sufferings  and  heard  her 
words  scarcely  dared  to  trust  his  own  senses,  so  marvellous 
in  the  frail  vessel  of  flesh  appeared  the  power  of  grace 
which  could  change  pain  into  joy,  contempt  into  honor, 
the  pressure  of  tribulation  into  consolation,  darkness  into 
light,  and  even  death  into  life. 

For  the  edification  of  the  reader,  we  subjoin  some  say- 
ings of  the  servant  of  God  concerning  the  value  and  object 
of  suffering  ;  they  are  taken  from  the  Acts  and  from  the 
writings  of  both  Father  Ott '  and  Sister  Gabriel:4  "To 
love  God  without  limit,  and  to  suffer  for  Him  are  two  in- 
separable things.  Afflictions  are  the  nutriment  of  love  ; 
they  keep  alive  and  nurse  the  flame  of  love.  Love  which 
does  not  long  for  great  things,  and  is  not  willing  to  suffer 
much,  is  not  a  golden  love,  but  a  brazen  one.  There  is 

1  Ott,  B.  I.  *  Gabriel,  p.  36. 


226        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia.^ 

no  other  road  to  Heaven  but  the  way  of  the  cross  ;  it  is  the 
surest  and  the  noblest ;  God  Himself  trod  that  path.  Who 
would  not  constantly  endeavor  to  advance  on  that  road  with 
giant  strides  ?  Nothing  excites  in  us  the  love  of  God  more 
than  many  crosses  and  sufferings.  Sufferings  are  the  touch- 
stone by  which  God  tries  whether  the  virtue  of  a  spiritual 
person  is  genuine  or  not.  We  must  not  love  this  life  for 
any  other  reason  than  because  we  can  here  suffer  for  God's 
love.  Crosses  are  generally  the  greatest  favors  of  God,  and 
nothing  can  properly  be  called  a  cross,  except  to  be  without 
a  cross;  that  is,  indeed,  the  greatest  cross.  Whosoever  aims 
at  a  union  of  love  with  Christ,  must  never  desire  to  be 
freed  from  crosses  ;  rather  must  he  seek  his  consolation 
therein,  and  look  on  them  as  the  surest  road  to  God." 

We  will  close  this  chapter  with  the  grand  hymn  which, 
far  and  wide,  is  known  by  her  name  and  which  has  already 
afforded  consolation  to  many  a  drooping  heart. 


OF  THE   BLESSED  MARY   CRESCENTIA  Hoss,    OF 
KAUFBEUREN. 

Sweet  hand  of  my  God,  how  my  heart  dost  Thou  cheer ! 

I  can  joke  with  my  suffering,  while  feeling  Thee  by ; 
God  strikes  as  with  balls,  yet  His  blows  become  dear, 

For  the  harder  He  strikes  me,  the  higher  I  fly. 

Yet  I  must  acknowledge  God  planes  very  thin ; 

He  cuts  me,  He  chips  me,  I  think  it  not  rough. 
Would  you  wish  to  know  wherefore?    Thus  does  He  begin 

To  make  me  an  angel  by  carving  enough. 

Oft  am  I  abandoned,  on  cross  or  in  woe, 

Then  I  think  God  rejoices,  He  wills  it  be  so ; 
He  is  hiding  as  huntei^  the  wild  prey  to  snare ; 

"We  see  not,  we  hear  not,  we  feel  not  His  care 

Like  a  tree  springing  up  in  a  garden  am  I, 

God  Himself  is  the  gardener,  He  prunes  me  in  time, 


Her  Fortitude  and  Love  of  the  Cross.      227 

He  cleanses,  lie  trims,  and  supports  by  each  tie, 
That  my  fruit  may  be  larger,  that  higher  I  climb. 


'Tis  therefore  in  sorrow  I  joy  can  maintain, 

Tho'  Satan  entice,  tho'  the  world  may  complain, 

I  hear  not,  I  heed  not,  to  neither  consent ; 
My  one,  my  sole  aim,  is  on  Heaven  intent. 

Oft  I  say  to  myself,  thou  flow'ret  in  bloom, 

Wilt  wither  already  ?  Thus  soon  to  forget 
That  pains  me  so  sharply  !  Then  I  think  of  the  doom, 

The  leaves  they  must  fall,  that  the  seed  may  be  set 

I  fear  then  110  suffering,  great  though  it  may  be, 
Which  the  hand  of  my  God  is  conveying  to  me  : 
More  quickly  is  iron  unto  steel  made  alike, 
When  fiercely  the  smith  with  the  hammer  doth  strike. 

What  can  injure  the  eye,  when  you're  melting  away, 
If  the  vine-stock  of  life  is  then  shooting  the  spray  ? 
Though  one  tear  bring  many :  they  fall  to  the  earth, 
And  sorrow  at  length  unto  joy  shall  give  birth. 

Should  torment  continue,  anxiety  plague, 
Like  wave  beating  wave,  in  a  wandering  vague, 
When  it's  God's  hand  that's  fishing,  then  no  one  denies 
The  darker  the  water,  the  richer  the  prize. 

God's  pressure,  tho'  painful,  yet  patience  bestows, 
For  then  I  think  humbly,  -with  heart  full  of  throes, 
I've  deserved  what  I  suffer :  no  organ  alone, 
When  the  keys  were  not  pressed,  ever  gave  forth  a  tone. 

Come,  blow,  then,  or  trouble,  since  thus  it  must  be, 

All  vain  else  the  hope  that  we  Heaven  may  see ; 

When  the  full  sheaves  are  stacked,  what  of  use  doth  appear, 

Till  the  thresher  has  beaten  the  grain  from  the  ear  ? 

For  a  time,  and  a  short  one,  God's  hand  with  us  plays, 
Then  to  rain  follows  sunshine,  joy  sorrow  allays ; 
Endure,  then,  and  bear  what  on  thee  God  may  lay : 
When  discontent  rises,  be  silent  and  pray. 


228        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

To  sulTiT  in  this  life  be  ever  content, 
Till  the  threads  of  thy  sorrow  by  God's  hand  are  rent: 
Then  thy  flesh  to  the  worms :  to  the  earth,  then,  thy  bones : 
Heaven's  bliss  to  thy  soul  for  thy  sorrow  atones. 

Thus  be  it  established :  this  proof  of  God's  love : 
Here  cut  and  here  burn,  but  be  gracious  above  1 
Then  grateful  inscribe  I  these  words  on  my  grave : 
"  Heaven's  bliss,  after  sorrow,  my  God  to  me  gave." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Crescentia  Crucified   with  Christ  by  Severe   Pen- 
ances and  Mortification.1 


they  that  are  Christ's  have  crucified  their 
flesh,  with  the  vices  and  concupiscences.  "* 
The  doctrine,  example,  and  spirit  of  Christ 
strictly  demand  of  every  Christian  to  hate  his  life  in  this 
world  in  order  to  keep  it  unto  life  eternal.3 

These  principles  of  the  Gospel  were  deeply  imprinted 
on  the  mind  of  Crescentia.  She  taught  that  "whosoever 
desires  to  love  God  must  be  entirely  and  forever  dead  to 
himself,  so  that  he  can  say  in  very  truth,  I  live,  but  now 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  And  "  the  road  to  per- 
fection does  not  consist  in  consolation  and  sweetness,  but 
in  continual  self-denial,  in  frequent  humiliations  and  in 
despising  one's  self."  She  often  spoke  thus  and  always 
acted  accordingly. 

As  an  inordinate  self-love  at  first  attaches  itself  to  an 
inordinate  enjoyment  of  the  senses,  and  as  "the  flesh  lust- 
eth  against  the  spirit,"4  thus  also  doth  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ  rise  up  against  the  flesh  and  is  an  inveterate  enemy 
of  the  pleasures  of  the  senses.  And  hence  Crescentia  felt, 

»  Summ.  N.  17,  6  1-93  and  N.  18,  6  1-12.—  Act.  B.  Inform.  S  219-289. 
1  Galat-  v.  34.          3  John  ill.  25.  *  OalaL  v.  17. 


Crescent ia  Crucified  with  Christ.          229 

from  her  very  infancy,  that  the  interior  spirit  which  she 
had  received  from  above  continually  urged  her  not  only  to 
renounce  the  pleasure  which  she  could  have  received  from 
the  outer  world,  but  also  permanently  and  voluntarily  to 
bear  pains  and  penances.  The  first  enemy  from  the  sensual 
camp  is  "love  of  eating."  She  called  this  inclination 
the  "  domestic  enemy/'  and  admonished  her  pupils  to  be 
well  on  the  look-out  against  it,  "because,"  she  said,  "  no  one 
knows  how  cunning  this  enemy  can  be.  We  must  be  very 
heroic  if  we  would  not  yield  to  it,  and  we  must  at  once 
suppress  inordinate  desires  for  eating  and  drinking,  else  the 
devil  will  capture  us.  We  ought  to  take  food  for  necessity's 
sake,  not  for  enjoyment.  There  is  nothing  more  odious 
than  for  a  religious  person  to  be  enslaved  by  such  things, 
feeding  the  heart  with  sensual  pleasures.  We  should  also, 
in  taking  what  is  necessary,  call  on  the  Holy  Ghost,  that 
the  soul  too  may  be  fed,  whilst  the  body  is  nourished." 

On  account  of  the  great  severity  against  herself  in  this 
very  point,  the  Sisters  often  advised  her  to  eat ;  she  used 
then  to  reply,  in  the  words  of  the  Lord:  "Not  in  bread 
alone  doth  man  live,  but  in  every  word  that  proceedeth 
from  the  mouth  of  God. " '  Her  life  was  a  continuous  fast 
of  such  severity  that  no  one  could  understand  how  life 
could  be  sustained  on  so  little  and  such  meagre  food.  But 
as  sensual  pleasure  may  arise  and  claim  its  share  even  in 
taking  poor  food,  she  imposed  on  herself  the  strict  law, 
neither  to  seek  the  pleasure  of  taste,  nor  to  attend  to  it, 
nay,  not  even  purposely  to  admit  it.  The  greater  part  of 
her  life  she  took  but  one  repast  a  day  and  that  at  noon. 
For  many  years  she  had  permission  to  absent  herself  from 
the  common  table  in  the  evening ;  even  when  she  was 
present  she  usually  took  nothing.  Sometimes  she  ate  noth- 
ing the  whole  day,  at  times  not  even  in  two  or  three  days.2 
In  her  last  sickness  she  ate  nothing  for  six  weeks,  and  in 
the  illness  before  the  last,  which  lasted  a  longer  time,  she 
took  but  little^-jdailv  Communion  was  then  her  nourish - 


1  Matth.  Iv.  4. 


-  Minim.  .N .^i77~=T**^^^""BBBi^^^^^j^| 

SANTA  BARBARA,  CAL 


230    The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ment.  At  dinner  in  the  refectory  she  took  only  a  little 
barley  broth,  which  for  many  years  was  specially  prepared 
for  her  ;  to  this  she  added  a  few  herbs,  and  in  summer 
some  lettuce  sprinkled  with  warm  water  or  tasteless  broth. 
To  conceal  her  mortifications,  she  said  that  she  liked  to  eat 
it,  and  they  could  see  by  this  how  weak  and  luxurious 
she  was.  If  she  were  busy  in  the  kitchen,  so  as  not  to  be 
at  table,  she  would  eat  from  the  remnants  brought  back  on 
the  dishes  ;  nay,  if  she  were  not  noticed,  she  drank  of  the 
nauseous  dish-water. 

Water  was  for  many  years  her  usual  and  only  beverage, 
and  this  not  fresh,  but  lukewarm  or  warm  water  ;  this  was 
a  more  severe  mortification,  from  the  fact  that  she  suf- 
fered continually  from  thirst,  being  troubled  with  inward 
heats.  Her  mouth  was  frequently  parched,  so  that  she 
could  hardly  speak.  Besides  this,  she  mortified  her  sense 
of  taste  in  the  manner  she  had  learned  as  a  child  from  her 
own  father  :  by  mixing,  when  not  observed,  bitter  things, 
as  worm-wood,  ashes,  fish-galls,  etc.,  with  her  eatables  and 
beverages.  If  she  had  to  take  medicine,  she  made  the 
mortification  of  her  taste  atone  for  the  alleviation  of  the 
sickness  :  she  would  keep  the  most  nauseous  medicines  a 
long  time  in  her  mouth  ;  chewed  her  pills  slowly,  and 
sipped  the  most  disgusting  fluids  drop  by  drop. '  By  this 
severity  to  herself  she  had  reached  the  point  that  she  could 
no  longer  distinguish  food  by  the  taste,  and  had  no  pref- 
erence for  one  kind  more  than  for  another,  yet  she  fre- 
quently complained,  with  tears,  that  she  treated  her  body, 
which,  like  our  holy  Father  St.  Francis,  she  called  her 
donkey,  too  effeminately  and  too  delicately. 

As  for  the  rest,  she  never  spoke  of  eating  and  drinking 
and  did  not  like  the  subject.  She  herself  says  she  did  not 
think  of  it,  except  when  the  signal  bell  called  her  to  the 
refectory,  and  then  it  was  a  real  torture  to  her  to  be 
obliged  to  comply  with  this  low  and  physical  necessity. 
She  then  obeyed  the  call  of  obedience,  but  her  mind  was 


Crescentia  Crucified  with  Ckrist.          231 

occupied  with  God  and  her  will  followed  the  divine  will, 
which  had  imposed  on  her  the  yoke  of  the  necessity  of  eat- 
ing, rather  than  the  impulse  of  the  senses  demanding  nu- 
triment. She  said  the  grace  before  and  after  meals  with 
angelic  devotion,  and  at  every  mouthful  she  took  practised 
the  exercise  of  sublime  intentions  and  reflections.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  meal  she  cut  a  piece  of  bread  in  the  shape 
of  a  triangle  and  in  it  contemplated  the  Blessed  Trinity 
during  the  time  of  the  repast. '  Her  intention  in  taking 
food  was  directed  to  that  perfection  of  motive  which  Jesus 
and  Mary  might  have  entertained  at  such  a  time.  Her 
thoughts,  while  she  was  eating,  were  not  for  a  mo- 
ment averted  from  the  spiritual  reading,  or  from  the  subject 
of  her  meditation,  and  thus  it  often  came  to  pass  that  she 
was  rapt  in  ecstasy  at  table.  Who  does  not  feel  a  won- 
drous admiration  for  this  holy  soul,  who  was  more  recol- 
lected in  God  when  attending  to  the  Avants  of  her  body 
than  we  ourselves  are  at  prayer  or  at  Holy  Communion. 

As  with  the  sense  of  taste,  so  with  the  other  senses  ;  she 
withdrew  from  them  the  pleasant  sensations  which  nature 
craves  :  she  permitted  not  that  her  ears  should  hear  or  her 
eyes  see  even  the  most  innocent  things,  except  in  so  far  as 
they  might  serve  the  soul.  She  not  only  did  not  allow  the 
organ  of  smelling  to  enjoy  perfumes  artificially  prepared, 
but  she  denied  it  even  the  fragrance  of  flowers,  while  she 
compelled  herself  to  accept  all  repugnant  impressions,  nay, 
even  went  in  search  of  them.  The  infirmary  was  welcome 
to  her  on  this  account.  When  other  Sisters  turned  away 
from  the  bad  odors  occurring  there,  or  held  their  noses, 
she  would  say  cheerfully  :  "  This  shows  me  very  clearly 
what  I  shall  be  one  day,"  or  she  used  the  words  of  Job  : 
"  I  have  said  to  rottenness,  thou  art  my  father:  to  worms, 
you  are  my  mother  and  my  sister. "  * 

She  denied  herself  all  comfort  in  the  carriage  and  posi- 
tion which  she  might  so  easily  have  indulged  in.  No 
matter  how  weak  or  sick  she  might  be,  she  never  leaned 

1  Gabriel,  p.  167.  2  Job  xvii.  14. 


232    The  Life  of  Ven.   Mary  Crescentia. 

against  anything  when  at  prayer  or  at  work.  That  God 
wished  that  mortification  on  her  part,  appears  from  the 
following  occurrence  related  by  Father  Ott  :'  Once  she 
was  so  tired  by  long  and  hard  work  that  she  thought  she 
could  no  longer  keep  on  her  feet.  She  then  asked  the 
Saviour  to  permit  her  to  support  her  hands  a  little  by  the 
screen  of  the  choir,  but  she  at  once  heard  the  words  : 
"  My  child,"  thus  the  Lord  usually  addressed  her,  "this  is 
no  time  to  rest." 

All  these  mortifications,  however,  did  not  satisfy  the 
spirit  of  penance  animating  Crescentia ;  her  motto  was  : 
"  The  more  we  nail  the  body  to  the  cross,  and  the  more  pa- 
tiently we  bear  offences  from  others,  the  more  grace  we 
may  hope  for  in  this  life,  and  the  greater  glory  in  the  next." 
She,  therefore,  was  always  inventing  new  ways  of  torturing 
her  body,  being,  however,  even  more  intent  on  mortifying 
her  will  by  obedience.  She  attempted  nothing  without  pre- 
viously receiving  permission  from  her  father  confessor. 
The  more  he  permitted  her,  the  greater  became  her  desire, 
the  more  urgent  her  petition  to  obtain  permission  to  carry 
out  yet  greater  works  of  mortification. 

Her  sleep  at  longest  lasted  but  two  or  three  hours,  and 
often  not  that,  as  her  confessor,  Father  Pamer,  relates. 
During  her  short  night's  rest  she  gave  pain  to  her  body  by 
keeping  it  in  an  inconvenient  position.  During  her  youth 
she  often  slept  on  the  hard  floor  ;  later  on,  she  slept  on  a 
bed,  indeed,  yet  it  was  on  a  large  wooden  cross,  which  is  yet 
preserved  with  great  veneration  in  her  cell.  When  she 
became  old  and  feeble  she  was  not  permitted  to  do  this 
any  more  ;  yet  leaving  this  off  was  no  advantage  to  the 
comfort  of  the  body,  for  God  sent  her  such  pains  that  as 
soon  as  she  lay  down,  she  was  either  tortured  by  heat  as 
great  as  if  she  were  lying  in  fire,  or  suffered  such  a  degree 
of  cold  that  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  she  were  frozen  to  an 
icicle.*  This  torture  was  scarcely  endurable,  nevertheless 
sho  persevered  in  it  until  permitted  by  obedience  to  rise. 

»  Ott.B  n.  C.8.  "  on    I!    II.  C.  8. 


Crescentia  Crucified  with  Christ.         233 

To  these  privations  she  added  the  chastisement  of  her 
body  by  the  use  of  painful  instruments  of  penance.  She 
encircled  her  arms  and  body  with  sharp  cilices  or  girdles, 
which  she  scarcely  ever  laid  aside  ;  these  often  penetrated 
into  her  flesh,  so  that  it  was  with  difficulty  she  drew  them 
out.  On  her  breast,  in  memory  of  the  Passion  of  Christ, 
she  wore  a  cross  almost  a  foot  long  and  set  with  sharp 
points.  On  her  bare  head  she  wore,  in  memory  of  the 
crown  of  thorns,  a  hoop  set  with  iron  prickles,  causing  her, 
like  the  cross,  immense  pain. 

As  often  as  she  received  permission,  that  is,  at  least  once 
a  day,  but  mostly  three  times,  she  scourged  herself  with 
disciplines,  in  which  iron  wires  or  spurs  were  interlaced. 
She  used  these  so  ruthlessly  against  herself  that  she  shed 
much  blood  and  the  skin  of  her  neck  was  flayed.  Several 
times,  on  this  account,  her  garments  stuck  to  her  body  so 
firmly  that  she  was  unable  to  loosen  them,  and  had  to  get 
others  to  help  her.  Sister  M.  Elizabeth  Krimer,  at  the 
command  of  the  Mother  Superior,  frequently  rendered  her 
this  painful  service  of  charity.  She  carefully  concealed 
her  instruments  of  penance;  nevertheless,  Sister  M.  Gabriel 
once  caught  sight  of  her  discipline,  and  saw,  with  a  shud- 
der, that  it  was  quite  bloody  and  that  pieces  of  skin  were 
sticking  to  the  little  iron  wheels  of  the  spurs.1 

Some  of  these  instruments  of  penance  are  still  in  exist- 
ence ;  but  the  Sisters  say  a  that  she  herself  destroyed  the 
most  painful  of  them  shortly  before  her  death.  Thirty 
years  after  her  death,  they  still  plainly  showed  traces 
of  blood  and  diffused  a  marvellously  pleasant  odor  all 
around.3  Numberless  witnesses  attest  this  from  their  own 
experience.  She  had  also  the  habit  of  putting  little  stones 
in  her  shoes,  in  order  to  bear  in  mind  and  to  venerate  the 
bloody  footsteps  made  by  our  Saviour  in  His  last  walk. 
This  she  did,  for  instance,  when  she  made  the  customary 
little  pilgrimage  to  St.  Wendelin,  at  Germaringen  ;  to  the 
shrine  of  the  Mother  of  Dolors  at  Ebenhofen,  and  to  St. 

1  Ott,  B.  II.  C.  8.  -  Ibid.  £  lor.  "•  siiiinn.  x.  6,  §  107  et  passim- 


234         The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Michael's.  We  easily  incline  to  think  that  such  a  pres- 
sure of  hard  works  of  penance,  united  with  such  a  load  of 
bodily  sufferings,  would  surpass  the  measure  of  human 
strength  and  consequently  the  limits  of  discretion.  But 
BO  strong  was  the  sublime  spirit  living  within  her,  that  she, 
on  the  contrary,  not  only  moved  around  easily  and  cheer- 
fully in  this  heavy  armor,  but  looked  upon  all  this  as  trifl- 
ing and  insufficient.  She  thought  that  her  life  was  al- 
together unmortified,  effeminate,  and  useless,  and  there- 
fore teased  her  confessors  to  grant  her  the  great  privilege 
of  doing  more. 

If  in  her  exterior  mortifications  she  is  more  to  be  won- 
dered at  than  imitated,  she  herself  laid  the  greatest  stress 
on  interior  self-denial,  and  as  the  account  of  her  life  every- 
where shows,  she  attained  to  great  perfection  therein.  All 
human  passions  seemed  absolutely  dead  within  her.  No 
attachment  or  aversion,  no  desire  or  fear  in  reference  to 
human  affairs,  no  sadness  or  frivolous  joy,  no  emotions  of 
anger  or  dejection  appeared  exteriorly,  or  darkened  the 
interior  of  this  soul,  so  wholly  weaned  from  the  world,  so 
utterly  absorbed  in  God.  Even  the  first  spontaneous  emo- 
tions of  this  description  appeared  but  seldom  in  later  years 
and  were  then  easily  and  instantly  suppressed.  After  the 
many  heroic  victories  she  had  gained,  the  flesh  so  full  of 
the  pleasures  of  the  world  and  of  the  senses,  so  full  also  of 
selfishness,  scarcely  dared  to  raise  its  head  against  reason, 
or  to  resist  the  direction  of  God  in  the  loftier  ways  of  the 
spirit.  Hence  came  the  visible,  fascinating  harmony  and 
calm  in  her  whole  conduct ;  hence  the  perfect  display  of 
the  beautiful  picture  of  all  Christian  virtues ;  hence  the 
steadfastness  with  which  she  ever  remained  equal  to  her- 
self in  all  the  situations  and  vicissitudes  of  life.  Storms 
which  usually  overturn  the  heart  of  man,  and  lay  bare 
abysses  which  reach  down  to  hell  itself,  could  not  darken 
the  mirror  of  her  soul  or  even  excite  its  waves  to  a  gentle 
movement.  The  powers  of  her  nature  easily  obeyed  tlio 
movements  of  the  IToly  Ghost  dwelling  within  her :  the 


How  Crescentia  Takes  the  Last  Place.     235 

holy  fire  which  blazed  within  her  heart,  burst  forth  out- 
wardly and  consumed  every  fault  adhering  to  the  flesh, 
making  of  her  body  and  soul  a  true  holocaust  of  love. 

0  most  happy  virgin,  so  similar  in  spirit  as  in  body  to 
the  Lamb  of  God  crucified,  sacrificed  !  Happy  virgin,  who 
united  the  lily  of  virginity  to  the  most  fragrant  rose  of  vol- 
untary martyrdom  !  If  the  sword  of  persecution  did  not 
take  away  her  physical  life,  yet  did  love  adorn  her  life  with 
the  sufferings  and  merits  of  the  holy  martyrs. 

0  Christian  !  do  you  desire  one  day  to  partake  of  the 
resurrection  and  glory  of  Christ  ?  Then  do  not  now  refuse  to 
feel  the  death  of  Christ  in  your  own  flesh,  by  dying  to  the 
world,  by  denying  your  natural  affections  and  by  practi- 
cally accepting  the  sufferings  of  this  life  ;  to  you,  too,  the 
words  of  the  Apostle  apply  :  "  You  are  dead  and  your  life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God."1 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

How  the  Humble  Servant  of  God  Takes  the 
Last  Place. ' 

| HE  words  of  Isaias  the  prophet  apply  to  the  faith- 
ful child  of  God  :  ' '  It  shall  take  root  downward 
and  bear  fruit  upward." s  That  is  to  say,  it  takes 
a  lowly  position  from  humility  and  is  on  that  account 
elevated  in  grace  and  merits,  and  adorned  with  the  "  fruits 
of  light;"  with  more  than  human  virtue. 

In  order  to  avoid  the  downfall  of  Lucifer,  who  wanted  to 
rise  higher,  when  he  ought  to  have  humbled  himself,  there 
is  but  one  means  left  to  a  privileged  soul  and  that  is,  to 
become  as  much  less  in  his  own  estimate  of  self,  as  he 
becomes  proportionally  greater  by  grace  in  God.  Nay, 

1  Col.  ill.  8.  «  Summ.  N.  19,  §  1,  2*4.—  Act.  B.  Inform.  %  280-338. 

3  IV.  Kings  xtx.  30. 


236        7  he  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

these  two  conditions  are  so  inseparably  united  by  the 
power  of  divine  ordinance,  that  we  can  affirm  that  this 
lowering  of  one's  self  and  rising  to  God  are  one  and  the 
same  thing,  as  in  a  balance,  where  one  scale  goes  down  as 
the  other  goes  up.  St.  Gregory  says  :  "  The  greater  the 
light  of  virtue  poured  by  the  Holy  Ghost  into  the  hearts 
of  the  elect,  the  greater  will  be  the  gift  of  humility  with 
which  He  enriches  them." '  According  to  these  principles 
the  reader  can  scarcely  expect  anything  else,  than  that  the 
humility  of  Ven.  M.  Crescentia  should  manifest  itself  in  a 
manner  barely  comprehensible  to  the  ordinary  class  of 
people.  She  knew  it  would  be  folly  to  erect  an  edifice  for 
eternity  on  any  other  foundation  than  that  of  humility, 
which  Christ,  the  only  wise  builder,  taught  alike  by  word 
and  example.  She  therefore  had  these  words  of  the  Lord 
often  on  her  lips  :  "  Learn  of  Me,  for  I  am  meek  and 
humble  of  heart,"  *  and  added  :  "  On  this  rock,  which  is 
Christ,  must  all  our  virtues  be  based."  She  wished,  by 
this,  to  say  that  this  rock,  Christ,  can  only  be  reached  and 
a  solid  foundation  laid  upon  it,  by  descending  into  the 
depths  of  one's  own  nothingness  and  sinfulness. 

The  nature  of  this  mysterious  virtue  she  well  understood. 
"Humility,"  she  said,  "does  not  consist  in  hanging 
down  one's  head  and  giving  free  utterance  to  humble 
words  and  expressions,  but  in  the  light  of  a  true  knowledge 
of  one's  self  and  one's  sins,  as  also  of  the  greatness  of 
God,  and  from  these  to  conceive  an  aversion  for  the  esteem 
and -love  of  men."  She  constantly  prayed  for  this  light, 
that  she  might  obtain  this  knowledge  of  God  and  of  self  ; 
using  for  this  purpose  the  well-known  words  of  St.  Augus- 
tine :  "  Lord,  may  I  know  myself  !  may  I  know  Thee  !  " 
How  far  God  granted  her  this  light  is  shown  in  the  little 
prayer  with  which  she  concluded  her  resolutions  : '  "0 
my  God  !  Thou  alone  knowest  my  weakness  ;  I  sink  into 
my  nothingness,  and  pray  to  Thee  to  work  in  me,  and 

'  Lib.  1v,  I   Keg.  c.  5.  »  Matth.  xl.  29.  *  Kolb,  p.  68. 


How  Crescentia  Takes  the  Last  Place.     237 

show  Thyself  great  in  this  empty  straw  of  mine.  Accom- 
plish in  deeds  what  Thou  hast  given  me  by  Thy  grace. 
Amen." 

She  believed  that  with  her  hands  she  could  take  hold  of 
the  great  truth  thus  expressed  by  St.  Hugo  of  Grenoble: 
"The  good  which  I  do  is  never  entirely  good,  and  is  not 
mine  ;  but  the  evil  which  I  do  is  entirely  evil,  and  is  all 
mine."  Sometimes  she  said  :  "  What  reason  can  a  reason- 
able man  find  to  exalt  himself  ?  Do  not  all  evils  and  sins 
come  from  man,  and  all  good,  whatsoever  it  be,  come 
wholly  from  God,  and  from  Him  alone  ?  He  who  really 
knows  God,  must  prize  Him  alone  highly,  and  love  Him 
above  all  things  ;  the  knowledge  of  God  is  followed  by  a 
complete  contempt  of  one's  self  and  of  one's  nothingness." 

In  recognizing  clearly  her  nothingness  and  her  sins  as 
the  capital  properly  belonging  to  herself,  she  obtained  the 
stand-point  that  we  must  consider  everything  good  as  a 
pure  alms  from  God  and  aim  to  refer  it  to  its  true  source, 
the  goodness  of  God.  She  used  to  say  that,  as  all  waters 
spring  from  the  ocean  and  return  thither,  so  must  everything 
good  go  back  to  its  source  and  nothing  be  kept  as  our  own. 
This  she  practised  herself  ;  she  never  sought  her  own  gain 
or  advantage  in  anything.  No  self-aggrandizement,  no 
honor  before  men  were  in  her  thoughts  ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  more  liberally  God  manifested  His  goodness  in  her  be- 
half, the  deeper  she  dived  into  her  own  nothingness  and 
unworthiness.  She  was  fully  conscious  of  these  gifts,  and 
of  their  magnitude,  and  indeed  incessantly  returned  thanks 
for  them  to  the  Father  of  light,  but  her  glance  at  the 
splendor  and  glory  of  this  gift  was  accompanied  by  a 
glance  at  her  own  unworthiness  and  responsibility.  The 
more  she  received,  the  greater  the  debt  she  believed  herself 
to  have  incurred  ;  and  the  more  God  exalted  her,  the  lower 
she  kept  herself  down.  "  For,"  said  she,  "of  him  who  re- 
ceives much,  much  will  also  be  demanded."  And  as  every 
new  gift  of  God  increased  in  her  the  knowledge  of  her  own 
unworthiness,  ingratitude,  and  responsibility,  so  of  every 


238        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

best  and  perfect  gift,  coming  to  her  from  the  Father  of 
light,  she  kept  nothing  for  her  own  individual  self  but 
a  conviction  of  being  an  unworthy  hand-maid  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  hence  she  succeeded  in  returning  to  God  the 
current  of  grace,  whole  and  in  all  its  purity,  she  herself 
remaining  in  her  sheer  nothingness. 

She  descended  deeper  yet,  even  below  her  nothingness. 
Sin  is  far  below  the  line  of  nothingness  ;  and  this  holy  soul 
had  in  spirit  gone  down  so  deep  into  this  abyss,  that  she 
considered  herself  to  be  the  greatest  sinner  on  earth,  above 
whom  every  other  sinner  ranked  immeasurably  high.  This 
opinion  of  hers  may  appear,  to  those  who  are  but  little  ac- 
quainted with  the  interior  life,  barely  credible,  and  in  any 
case  pass  for  an  altogether  untrue  exaggeration.  But  two 
things  are  here  to  be  considered  :  on  the  one  side,  that  the 
comparison  is  not  here  instituted  between  the  grievousness 
of  sinful  acts  in  themselves,  as  if  she  had  meant  that  she 
herself  had  committed  more  sins,  and  these  more  grievous 
mortal  sins,  than  those  of  other  persons,  but  it  refers  to 
the  contrast  of  graces  received,  she  believing  herself  to 
have  offered  a  greater  resistance  to  the  infinite  fulness  of 
grace  conferred  upon  her,  than  others  had  done  to  the 
lesser  degree  bestowed  on  them.  On  the  other  side,  it  is 
peculiar  to  the  God-given  light,  that  it  should  point  out 
to  the  interior  eye  the  very  smallest  speck  of  its  own 
faults,  while  it  turns  away  that  same  eye  from  the 
faults  of  others,  and  only  lets  them  see  the  good  that  is  in 
them.  Consequently,  when  the  light  of  grace  casts  its  il- 
lumination on  one's  own  faults,  it  throws  the  faults  of  others 
into  the  shade,  in  such  a  way  that  the  Saints  can  enter- 
tain a  firm  conviction  that  they  are  the  greatest  among 
sinners. 

This  holy  virgin  lived  and  worked,  then,  amid  a  light  so 
great,  that  it  made  the  smallest  defect  seem  to  be  a  crime  ; 
therefore  it  was  that  she  could  not  comprehend  how  any 
one  could  set  any  value  on  himself,  after  he  had  committed 
a  single  sin  and  thereby  deserves  to  be  held  in  contempt 


How  Crescentia  Takes  the  Last  Place.     239 

by  others ;  she  felt  a  real  disgust  at  herself ;  she  seemed 
to  herself,  "  an  abomination  of  desolation  in  a  holy  place," 
and  would  have  liked  to  flee  from  herself.  She  was,  there- 
fore, greatly  surprised  that  others,  instead  of  heaping  con- 
tempt on  her,  conferred  favors  upon  her,  and  suffered  her 
in  "their  holy  company." 

She  maintained  that  no  one  011  the  face  of  the  earth,  who 
was  in  the  enjoyment  of  such  fulness  of  grace  as  she  was, 
was  so  miserable  and  wretched  as  she.  If  God  were  to  with- 
draw His  assistance  but  for  a  moment,  she  was  ready  for 
every  crime  ;  if  God  were  but  to  take  His  own  from  her, 
nothing  but  sin  and  pure  nothingness  would  be  left  to  her; 
and  even  if  she  had  committed  no  mortal  sin,  she  was  but 
the  more  indebted  to  the  mercy  of  God,  which  had  pre- 
served her  from  it.  If  she  heard  that  any  one  had  com- 
mitted a  grievous  sin,  she  used  to  say  :  "I  should  have 
fallen  much  lower  than  this  unfortunate  man,  if  Almighty 
God  had  not  so  powerfully  upheld  me  ;  had  the  man, 
on  the  other  hand,  had  the  grace  I  possess,  he  would  live  a 
thousand  times  more  piously  than  I  do.  *  He  that  think- 
eth  himself  to  stand,  let  him  take  heed  lest  he  fall/  " 1 

It  was  a  puzzle  to  her  how  people  could  ask  advice  from 
her,  or  beg  for  her  prayers  ;  then  she  would  often  exclaim  : 
"  And  I,  what  am  I,  then  ?  a  sinful,  ignorant  woman,  a  des- 
picable nothing,  a  feeble  reed,  a  straw,  a  sinful  worm  ! 
what  good  can  be  expected  from  such  a  worm  ?  my  whole 
skill  consists  in  sinning."  " Useless  straw "  was  the  usual 
title  she  applied  to  herself.  She  was  of  opinion  that  it  was 
one  of  the  greatest  miracles  of  divine  mercy  that  God  toler- 
ated her,  the  most  contemptible  of  creatures,  on  the  earth. 
"  0  God  !"  she  once  said,  "the  earth  on  which  I  tread  is 
Thy  creature,  and  I  step  on  it  with  my  feet,  whilst  I  deserve 
for  my  sins  to  be  trodden  under  foot  by  every  creature." 
To  the  Sisters  she  sometimes  exclaimed  :  "  Dear  Sisters, 
you  can  hardly  believe  how  bad  and  miserable  I  am  ;  I  am 

4 1.  cor.  x.  12. 


240        77/6'  Life- of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

unworthy  of  the  bread  I  eat,  unworthy  that  the  sun  should 
shine  on  me,  that  the  earth  should  bear  me  ;  I  deserve  to 
be  cast  out  from  human  society."  This  great  self -contempt 
was  appropriately  expressed  in  the  wonder  she  felt  that  the 
devil  should  tempt  her  so  severely  ;  she  could  not  under- 
stand how  a  spirit  so  noble  as  he  is  by  nature,  was  not 
ashamed  to  trouble  himself  so  much  with  such  a  miserable 
and  sinful  woman.  From  the  same  sentiment  came  the 
petition  she  uttered  on  her  death-bed,  that  no  crown  of 
roses  should  adorn  her  corpse,  but  a  crown  of  straw. 

This  low  opinion  of  herself  being  once  entertained  by  her 
with  full  and  constant  conviction,  urged  her  on  all  occa- 
sions, interiorly  and  exteriorly,  to  take  the  last  place  as  the 
one  properly  belonging  to  her.  She  considered  it  a  settled 
fact  that  in  every  point  she  was  the  least  and  the  worst 
among  the  Sisters.  "  I  see,"  she  said,1  "  in  the  face  of  every 
Sister  a  living  virtue  shine,  but  in  me  there  is  nothing  to 
see  but  a  dark  shadow  of  sin.  I  cannot  sufficiently  wonder 
how  people  and  all  creatures  can  stand  such  a  wretched 
creature  as  I  am."  When  she  witnessed  public  and  unde- 
niable faults  committed  by  her  Sisters,  she  first  laid  them 
to  her  own  account  and  maintained  that  by  her  bad  exam- 
ple she  had  given  occasion  to  them;  for  the  same  reason  she 
wished  the  Superioress  to  lay  the  penance  on  her  for  the 
failings  of  the  others.  Even  the  general  calamities  befall- 
ing the  city  and  country  she  attributed  to  her  sins,  and 
thought  it  was  only  her  duty  to  ask  of  God  not  to  punish 
others  on  her  account.  In  her  outward  behavior  she  al- 
ways sought  to  occupy  the  lowest  place.  It  had  become  to 
her  a  second  nature  to  yield  to  all,  to  help,  to  anticipate 
their  wishes  and  to  obey  them.  When  it  was  not  against 
the  prescribed  order  of  the  community,  she  always  took 
the  last  seat,  as  being,  in  her  own  way  of  thinking,  the 
most  unworthy.  She  acted  in  this  way  also  with  the  poor 
and  with  beggars,  as  if  she  felt  herself  unworthy  to  be  in 
their  company.  ' 

1  Summ.  C.  I  §  193. 


How  Crescentia  Takes  the  Last  Place.      241 

Even  when  she  had  become  old  she  still  obeyed  the 
youngest  Sisters,  like  a  child ;  she  assumed  their  hard 
work,  opened  the  door  to  them,  let  them  precede  her,  served 
them  in  everything  and  had  a  special  pleasure  and  consola- 
tion in  being  the  least  and  the  last.1  She  carefully  avoided 
making  any  pretensions,  and  every  appearance  of  vain- 
glory ;  she  never  interrupted  any  one  who  was  speaking  ; 
she  willingly  asked  advice,  even  of  the  youngest  and  most 
inexperienced  of  the  Sisters,  and  at  once  gave  in,  if  con- 
tradicted. Even  when  Mistress  of  Novices,  she  fre- 
quently questioned  her  pupils,  with  the  view  of  being  in- 
structed by  them  in  many  things.  She  had  the  simple 
eye,  that  is,  the  eye  everywhere  directed  to  good,  edified  by 
everything,  and  therefore  she  was  enabled  to  say  with  truth, 
that  every  one  in  the  convent  gave  her  good  example  and  ed- 
ification. We  will  afterwards  narrate  more  in  detail  how  she 
practised  humility  as  Mistress  of  Novices  and  as  Mother  Su- 
perior ;  we  will  here  only  remark  that  it  was  very  painful 
to  her  when  the  Sisters,  according  to  religious  usage,  knelt 
down  before  her  on  certain  occasions  :  she  could  not  then 
forbear  telling  them,  that,  at  the  washing  of  the  feet,  Christ 
Himself  had  knelt  before  the  impious  Judas.  This  beauti- 
ful virtue  was  brought  into  striking  prominence  in  her 
conduct  with  persons  of  the  outer  world  ;  to  these  she  al- 
ways appeared  very  modest  and  humble,  plain  and  simple, 
without  affectation  or  dissimulation.  A  priest  says  of  her 
that  she  was  considered  a  perfect  model  of  humility  by  all 
who  conversed  with  her.  Persons  of  high  distinction  who 
visited  her  declared  they  knew  not  which  to  admire  the 
more,  her  humility  or  her  prudence. 

She  concealed  with  great  care  and  prudence  everything 
that  could  tend  to  her  honor,  especially  everything  extra- 
ordinary that  she  did  or  had  received  from  God,  and  if  by 
any  chance  anything  of  this  kind  became  publicly  known, 
she  blushed  and  was  as  much  ashamed  'as  a  child  caught  in 

1  Sumin.  C.  I  8  203. 


242        The  Life  of  yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

some  mischief  would  be.  According  to  the  assurances 
given  by  Father  Ott,1  she  was  so  successful  in  hiding  her 
virtues  and  graces,  that  during  her  lifetime  not  even  those 
nearest  to  her  knew  one-thousandth  part  of  them.  When 
obedience  required  her  to  reveal  them,  it  was  easy  to  see 
what  torture  and  confusion  she  underwent.  At  the  same 
time  she  avoided  all  singularity  and  conformed  so  entirely 
to  the  usual  demeanor  of  the  others  in  the  choir,  at  table, 
and  at  recreation,  that  a  superficial  observer  would  have 
seen  nothing  remarkable  in  her.  She  was  full  of  jokes  at 
recreation  time,  and  when  with  children  she  was  Ifke  a 
child  ;  her  exuberant  interior  life  broke  forth  at  times, 
only  when  the  power  of  the  soul  carried  her  away. 

The  poison  of  praise,  so  sweet  to  fallen  humanity,  she, 
from  her  childhood  upwards,  had  loathed  and  abhorred  more 
than  death  itself  ;  even  at  that  time  she  would  shed  bitter 
tears  when  she  was  praised  for  her  loveliness,  modesty,  and 
prudence,  and  would  complain  of  the  great  wrong  done  in 
telling  such  falsehoods  of  her.  In  later  years,  when  the 
success  of  anything  was  attributed  to  her  advice  or  prayer, 
she  would  say,  with  blushes  and  with  eyes  cast  down  :  "  God 
has  done  it ;  to  Him  alone  be  all  honor  and  glory  ;  but  to 
me  shame  and  confusion  of  face,  as  is  due  to  mere  vanity  and 
misery."  If  she  was  praised  on  other  accounts,  she  would 
say  :  *  "  Ah,  these  good  people  do  not  know  me,  else 
they  would  think  differently  of  me  ;  I  am  the  greatest 
sinner,  and  weakness  and  wretchedness  itself  ;  I  am  a  straw, 
a  broken  reed,  a  most  contemptible  worm,  a  nothing,  fit  only 
to  be  cast  away.  I  deserve  that  every  one  should  tread  me 
under  foot  and  clean  his  shoes  on  me."  On  the  other  hand, 
the  more  severely  she  was  blamed,  the  more  she  appeared 
to  rejoice  and  said  :  "  The  useless  and  wretched  Crescentia 
deserves  no  other  praise  than  this." 

When,  in  later  years,  visits  from  persons  of  high  rank  be- 
came constantly  more  frequent,  it  gave  her  great  pain  and 
she  wept  bitter  tears  because  so  many  noble  gentlemen 

1  Ott,  p.  901.  *  Gabriel,  p.  861. 


How  Crescentia,  Takes  the  Last  Place.     243 

and  ladies  were  deceived  in  her  regard.  Obedience  alone 
could  prevail  on  her  to  converse  with  them,  because,  as  she 
expressed  it,  she  only  understood  how  to  wash  dishes  in  the 
kitchen,  and  not  how  to  converse  with  distinguished  per- 
sons. This  recognition  of  her  sanctity  and  consequent  ven- 
eration paid  to  her,  might  have  been  very  dangerous  to  souls 
not  well  grounded  in  truth,  but  this  danger  lay  so  far  from 
her,  that,  as  her  confessor,  Father  Pamer,  asserts,1  she  never 
even  had  the  temptation  to  indulge  a  thought  of  vanity  ; 
on  the  contrary,  the  honor  paid  to  her  but  humbled  her 
the  more.  She  could  not  sufficiently  express  her  astonish- 
ment that  such  wise  and  virtuous  gentlemen  should  con- 
descend to  "  speak  to  a  poor,  silly,  ignorant  weaver's 
daughter."  She  sometimes  exclaimed  : "  "  Oh,  wretched 
being  that  I  am  !  how  ashamed  I  feel  before  such  noble 
persons,  who  are  so  pious  and  humble  as  to  condescend  to 
come  to  see  a  poor  weaver's  daughter,  or  to  write  to  her. 
Although  I  am  a  religious,  I  have  no  such  humility.  I 
cannot  wonder  enough  that  even  one  single  person  in  the 
whole  world  should  remember  me,  who  am  but  a  miserable 
sinner,  and  a  mere  nothing.  Others,  from  the  secular 
state,  too,  are  so  rich  in  virtues,  and  I,  great  sinner  as  I  am, 
have  not  even  the  shadow  of  one  virtue,  and  in  spite  of 
my  religious  vocation,  am  not  worthy  to  touch  them  with 
my  finger.  Oh,  they  will  one  day  confound  me  before  the 
whole  world!"  At  such  visits  as  these,  she  behaved  with 
extreme  modesty  and  propriety,  but  without  affectation ; 
her  eyes  were  cast  down,  and  her  hands  hidden  under  the 
scapular.  It  was  especially  before  noble  and  princely 
persons  that  she  took  pleasure  in  mentioning  that  she  was 
a  poor  weaver's  daughter,  received  into  the  convent  from 
pure  charity,  since  she  had  brought  nothing  with  her. 

It  has  been  cast  at  her,  as  a  sign  of  pride,  that  she  had 
allowed  her  picture  to  be  taken,  and  this  even  in  the  stations 
of  the  cross  that  were  put  up  in  the  convent.  But  she  is  alto- 
gether blameless  in  this  matter.  Father  Erasmus  Osen- 

1  Gabriel,  p.  53.  z  n>id.  p.  266. 


244        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

renter,  in  whose  house  the  pictures  were  made,  had  induced 
the  artist,  Joseph  Schwartz,  of  Buchloe,  to  put  the  picture 
of  the  servant  of  God  repeatedly  in  these  pictures.  The 
artist  himself  relates  it  in  a  document  still  extant,  dated 
May  10th,  1752,  and  at  the  same  time  describes,  in  a  most 
amusing  manner,  the  embarrassment  in  which  he  had  him- 
self been  placed.  When  Mother  Crescentia's  attention  had 
been  called  to  the  fact  that  she  herself  had  been  painted  on 
the  pictures,  she  became  much  troubled,  nay,  exasperated. 
With  an  unwonted  animation  she  demanded  that  the 
pictures  should  be  altered,  or,  as  she  expressed  it,  that 
"  those  monkey-faces  be  removed  at  once."  But  the  parish- 
priest  was  just  as  resolute  that  they  should  remain.  The 
poor  artist  was  sorely  perplexed,  and  did  not  know  which 
way  to  turn.  At  length  he  had  recourse  to  diplomacy, 
and  promised  to  alter  the  pictures  when  he  returned  from 
a  journey  he  had  to  make.  At  the  same  time,  "  I  thought 
to  myself,"  says  he,  "  that  I  would  do  it  if  the  parish-priest 
so  settled  it ; "  she  was  now  tranquillized.  During  the 
artist's  travels  Crescentia  took  sick  and  after  a  while  died, 
and  the  pictures  remained  as  they  were. 

To  flee  from  honors  is  difficult ;  to  accept  with  pleasure 
contempt  and  disgrace,  and  seek  such  with  avidity,  is  still 
more  difficult.  Nevertheless,  we  can  truly  assert  that  in  no 
lady  of  fashion  is  the  desire  to  please  so  great  as  was  in 
Crescentia  the  desire  to  possess  the  treasure  of  contempt 
and  disgrace.  When  this  celestial  pearl  was  presented  to 
her,  she  received  it  with  joy  and  gratitude.  It  is  not  known 
that  she  ever  avoided  an  occasion  of  disgrace,  or  ever  said 
a  word  to  excuse  herself  ;  yet  she  was  many  times  falsely 
accused  and  was  often  grievously  insulted.  The  revered 
words,  "  But  Jesus  held  His  peace,"  hovered  before  her  eyes, 
and  she  kept  silent  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  or  rather, 
she  thanked  those  who  upbraided  her  for  their  kind  admo- 
nition and  promised  to  do  better.  Even  when  the  harsh 
accusations  which  we  have  mentioned  were  brought 
against  her,  she  still  remained  the  same  silent,  patient 


How  Crescentia  Takes  the  Last  Place.     245 

lamb,  asked  pardon  from  her  accusers,  and  would  then 
say  :  "  These  know  me  better  than  I  know  myself,  and 
if  everybody  were  to  act  in  this  way  with  me,  I  should 
come  to  know  my  faults  much  better,  but  miserable 
wretch  that  I  am,  I  do  not  amend  and  do  not  deserve 
the  good  bread  and  the  place  I  have  in  the  convent."  A 
stranger,  who  knew  her  by  name  only,  once  told  her  and 
several  Sisters  that  he  had  heard  that  Crescentia  was  a  witch 
and  was  now  really  in  prison.  She  smiled  at  this  and  said 
cheerfully  :  "  Praise  be  to  God,  I  know  nothing  about  that, 
but  for  my  sins  I  have  deserved  that  and  even  greater 
punishments." 

It  was  her  real  conviction,  which  she  once  said  with  the 
most  touching  humility,  when  they  imprisoned  her  in  a 
dark  room  and  treated  her  with  glaring  injustice  :  "They 
treat  me  much  too  kindly;  I  deserve  the  insults  heaped  upon 
me,  and  more  still.  This  place  where  I  am  imprisoned  is 
too  beautiful  and  too  comfortable  for  such  a  great  sinner 
as  I."  Such  heroism  can  only  result  from  profound  humil- 
ity and  the  most  powerful  love  for  the  Crucified.  When  a 
Sister  once  asked  her  how  she  could  stand  such  injurious 
treatment,  and  what  she  thought  of  it,  she  replied:  "Jesus, 
my  Spouse,  although  innocent,  suffered  much  more  for  me, 
and  I  am  not  without  guilt ;  but  even  if  I  suffer  as  guilty, 
I  still  rejoice  that  I  can  suffer  for  love  of  Him." 

She  knew  what  a  sweet  kernel  of  grace  lies  hidden  in 
the  bitter  husk  of  contempt  and  humiliation,  therefore  she 
considered  it  as  a  priceless  gain  to  exchange  a  passing, 
temporal  disgrace  for  eternal  glory,  and  besides  this,  to  be- 
come likened  to  the  crucified  Redeemer.  For  this  reason 
she  let  no  opportunity  pass  of  incurring  shame  before 
others,  without  availing  herself  of  it ;  and  with  insatiable 
hunger  she  longed  for  still  greater  humiliation  and  con- 
tempt. As  often  as  obedience  and  love  permitted  it,  she 
would  intentionally,  now  and  then,  make  blunders  in  sing- 
ing, at  work,  and  in  her  conversation,  or  make  some  silly 
remark,  in  order  to  be  laughed  at ;  she  then  joined  in  the 


246         Tke  Life  of  ^en.  Mary  Crcscctitia. 

laugh,  saying  :  "  I  am  a  silly  woman  ;  but  God  is  so  good 
as  to  show  me  that  I  really  know  nothing,  can  do  nothing, 
that  I  am  nothing."  Somebody  says  truly  of  her  :  "  Hu- 
mility and  love  are  the  characteristic  features  which  strike 
the  eye  most  forcibly  in  her  regard." 

We  conclude  this  chapter  by  bringing  forward  the  testi- 
mony of  her  confessor,  Father  Adolphus  Lachner,  S.  J. , 
who  knew  her  well.  He  said  that  he  was  convinced  that 
he  could  not  by  any  praise  stir  up  the  least  temptation  to 
a  thought  of  vanity,  that  she  would  rather  be  driven  by 
such  praise  to  humble  herself  the  more  profoundly ;  that 
never  in  her  whole  life  had  a  proud  thought  risen  within 
her  heart.  This  is  something  so  great  and  rare  that  we 
should  hardly  believe  it  possible,  did  we  not  know  that 
what  seems  impossible  to  men  is  possible  with  God. 
"Where  pride  is,  there  also  shall  be  reproach  ;  but  where 
humility  is,  there  also  is  wisdom."  '  The  whole  of  history 
bears  witness  to  this  sentence  ;  and  yet  we  use  so  little  and 
so  negligently  the  opportunities  to  humble  ourselves,  op- 
portunities daily  sent  by  God  Himself,  that  we  even  count 
as  a  misfortune  that  which,  according  to  the  ordinance  of 
God,  should  lead  us  to  happiness.  Attend,  0  Christian 
soul,  to  what  St.  James  teaches  :  "  Be  humbled  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  and  He  will  exalt  you."  * 

1  Prov.  xl.  2.  *  Jamfie  iv.  10. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

How  Perfectly  Crescentia  Practised  the  Obedi- 
ence of  Faith.1 

jLL  who  refuse  to  obey  are  far  from  the  spirit  of  God." 
This  infallibly  true  principle  the  servant  of  God 
often  asserted,  and  was  so  convinced  of  it,  that  she 
would  rather  have  given  her  life  a  thousand  times  than 
deviate  a  hair's  breadth  from  obedience.  She  styled  obe- 
dience her  "  pilgrim's  staff,  with  which  the  soul  walks  se- 
curely on  the  road  of  virtue,  nay,  if  need  be,  flies,  until  on 
the  narrow  path  of  perfection  it  has  happily  completed 
the  journey  from  this  temporal  life  to  the  eternal." 

By  this  obedience,  however,  she  understood  Christian 
obedience  springing  forth  from  the  root  of  faith.  For, 
there  is  also  a  purely  human  obedience,  proceeding  from  a 
pliable  disposition,  which  when  it  is  supported  by  a  corre- 
sponding education,  and  assisted  by  natural  motives,  at 
times  achieves  great  things  and  exteriorly  resembles  true 
virtue  very  much.  Such  acquiescence  is,  however,  rather 
slavery  than  human  virtue,  or  at  best  man-service  and  not 
service  of  God.  Only  the  one  who  by  faith  acknowledges 
the  will  of  God  in  the  ordinance  of  the  Superior,  and  who 
in  the  mortal  obeys  Christ  Himself,  exercises  the  virtue  of 
the  obedience  of  faith.  To  this  may  be  applied  "  to  serve 
God  is  to  rule  ;  "  and  he  who  practises  it  rises  spiritually  in 
the  same  degree  in  which  he  humbles  himself  exteriorly. 

The  servant  of  God  carefully  drew  the  line  of  distinction 
between  the  obedience  of  nature  and  that  of  faith,  and 
frequently  inculcated  on  her  pupils  the  necessity  of  their 
adopting  the  latter  ;  and,  as  the  first  and  most  import- 
ant principle,  she  taught  them  to  acknowledge  in  the  per- 
son of  the  Superior  or  father  confessor,  God  Himself,  and 

1  Summ.  N,  18,  §  1-206. 


248        7  he  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

to  accept  their  commands  as  respectfully  and  as  cheerfully 
us  they  would  receive  the  orders  of  God  Himself. 

Such  an  obedience  she  could  not  sufficiently  praise  and 
recommend  ; !  it  contained  the  greatest  liberty  attainable 
on  earth  ;  a  liberty  not  to  sin,  for  inasmuch  as  we  act  by 
obedience,  we  become  sinless  ;  it  is  also  the  surest  and 
shortest  road  to  perfection  ;  but  this  refers  to  blind  obedi- 
ence alone  ;  an  obedience  which  does  not  investigate  the 
command,  but  immediately  carries  out  what  is  ordered  ;  an 
obedience  to  which  a  glance  of  the  eye  suffices,  which  does 
not  listen  to  the  objections  of  the  senses,  but  sees  nothing 
but  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  whose  person  the  Superior 
represents,  which  relies  on  nothing  save  the  words  of 
Eternal  Truth  :  "He  who  hears  you,  hears  Me."  The 
effects  of  this  virtue  are  really  marvellous,  even  in  the 
most  insignificant  exercises;  it  brings  forth  the  greatest 
fruits  ;  it  gilds  everything  which  other  virtues  would  but 
silver  over.  It  renders  sweet  what  is  bitter  ;  and  what  is 
meanest  and  lowest  it  makes  precious  before  God.  It  is 
better  to  pick  up  a  straw  from  the  floor  in  obedience,  than, 
of  your  own  will,  to  accomplish  deeds  of  heroism.  She 
herself  continually  practised  this  virtue  and  expressed  her 
sentiments  by  the  following  prayer : '  "0  God,  my 
Creator  and  Sovereign  Good  !  I  accept  this  Thy  command 
with  pleasure  and  from  the  purest  love  for  Thee  ;  gracious- 
ly accept  the  good-will  and  obedience  of  poor  Crescentia, 
Thy  slave,  which  I  now  offer  to  Thy  honor." 

The  first  effect  of  this  exercise  of  faith  was  to  abstract 
her  view  completely  from  the  qualifications  and  motives  of 
those  who  brought  to  her  the  will  of  God.  In  this  she  re- 
sembled her  holy  Father  St.  Francis,  who,  as  he  himself  as- 
sures us,  would,  with  the  grace  of  God,  as  readily  obey  the 
novice  who  had  just  entered  the  Order,  as  the  oldest  and 
worthiest  Brother.  She  considered  it  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence, whether  the  person  whom  she  obeyed  were  young  or 
old,  clever  or  a  blockhead,  attached  to  her  or  averse. 

»  Gabriel,  p.  174.          »  Ibid.  p.  175. 


Her  Obedience  of  Faith.  249 

Without  minding  who  the  person  was,  she  directed  her  at- 
tention to  God,  and  followed  the  direction  of  her  Superiors 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  child.  She  therefore  called  her 
Superiors  "  her  shining  stars/'  by  which  she  had  to  be 
guided.  She  used  to  say  : '  "By  the  grace  of  God  I  would 
obey  a  sulphur  match,  if  God  set  it  up  as  my  Superior. 
The  Superior  is  only  the  tool  by  which  God  rules  us.  God 
commands  the  Superior,  the  Superior  commands  us ;  it  is 
therefore  absolutely  necessary  that  we  should  obey,  not 
men,  but  God  Himself." 

From  the  same  reasoning  it  became  easy  to  her  to  sac- 
rifice everything  to  this  acknowledged  divine  will ;  and 
to  give  up  wholly  to  the  will  of  her  Superiors  her  body  and 
soul,  her  judgment  and  will,  her  entire  exterior  and  inter- 
ior life.  Like  her  Spouse  she  was  obedient  unto  death,  as 
she  gave  herself  up  to  the  disposal  of  her  Divine  Master 
unto  life  and  death.  Many  witnesses  give  evidence  of  the 
exactness  of  perfection  which  she  acquired  in  the  exercise 
of  this  virtue,  in  little  as  in  great  matters,  in  easy  as  well  as 
difficult  things.  Father  Ott  expresses  his  opinion  that 
hardly  any  religious  had  ever  been  more  thoroughly  and 
universally,  or  more  constantly  and  severely  tried,  than  she 
was,  and  this  even  in  good  and  holy  things,  and  certainly 
no  one  had  ever  stood  these  trials  with  greater  constancy, 
cheerfulness,  and  subjection  of  the  will  and  judgment. 

We  have  already  heard  the  testimony  given  by  her 
parents  respecting  her  obedience  in  their  house  ;  they  said 
that  she  had  never  committed  the  least  fault  in  this 
respect.  Concerning  her  religious  life,  Sister  Joseph- 
ine Anger  speaks  as  follows  : 2  "  Self-will  was  completely 
dead  in  her  ;  she  never  examined  the  orders  of  her  Super- 
iors, and  it  made  no  difference  to  her,  whether  the  com- 
mand were  easy  or  difficult.  She  beheld  in  her  Superiors 
the  command  of  God  Himself,  and  desired  nothing  else 
than  to  live,  to  suffer,  and  to  die  in  obedience  and  by 
obedience.  This  I  always  saw  in  her,  and  heard  it  of  her 

1  Gabriel,  p.  175.  »  Summ.  N.  15  %  180. 


250        Tke  Life  of  yen.  Alary  Crescentia. 

from  others.  Her  obedience  was  entirely  submissive  and 
universal.  It  was  united  to  a  great  facility  and  dexterity, 
cheerfulness  and  perseverance  unto  death.  She  obeyed, 
not  commands  alone,  but  also  every  hint  of  the  Superioress, 
at  every  hour,  day  and  night,  without  any  exception  what- 
ever." 

At  the  first  signal  of  the  bell,  summoning  the  commun- 
ity to  an  exercise,  or  at  the  first  hint  of  the  Superioress,  she 
left  everything  she  had  in  hand,  just  where  it  happened  to 
be;  she  did  not  complete  the  letter  begun;  nay,  as  the  Sis- 
ters noticed  with  surprise,  if  at  table  she  had  already 
brought  the  spoon  to  her  mouth,  and  heard  the  signal  of 
obedience,  she  returned  the  food  to  the  plate  and  first  did 
what  she  was  ordered.  Nay,  she  even  anticipated  the  wish 
or  hint  of  the  Mother  Superior,  so  that  the  latter  fre- 
quently said  she  must  be  careful  in  Crescentia's  pres- 
ence not  to  utter  any  wish,  for  she  would  immediately 
hasten  to  carry  it  out,  even  if  it  surpassed  her  strength. 
Moreover,  she  not  only  did  everything  which  obedience 
ordered,  but  what  is  far  more,  she  did  nothing  but  by  obe- 
dience. She  was  often  heard  to  utter  the  beautiful  max- 
im, "Nothing  by  self -will:  everything  by  obedience."  In- 
deed, she  used  every  effort  not  to  leave  the  slightest  room 
for  her  own  selection,  or  decision,  not  even  in  the  least 
things,  so  that  the  divine  will  might  exercise  full  sway  in 
the  dominion  of  her  interior  and  exterior  action,  through 
the  obedience  she  rendered  to  her  Superiors.  Every  exer- 
cise of  virtue,  every  work,  every  decision  respecting  the 
most  indifferent  and  insignificant  things,  as,  for  example, 
care  for  the  needs  of  the  body,  she  subjected  to  the  sceptre 
of  obedience.  On  her  knees,  she  entreated  Father  Provin- 
cial Boniface  Schmidt  to  extend  the  merit  of  obedience  to 
all  things,  even  to  such  as  were  not  commanded,  that  she 
might  with  certainty  in  all  things  fulfil  the  will  of  God. 

An  obedience  springing  wholly  from  the  light  of  faith, 
and  animated  by  the  power  of  love,  can  stand  the  hardest 
probation.  We  see  this  in  this  soul  consecrated  to  God 


Her  Obedience  of  Faith.  251 

and  to  the  "  obedience  of  charity."  '  By  the  dispensation 
of  God,  she  had  many  occasions  of  becoming  rich  in  merits, 
and  an  edifying  model  for  others  by  heroic  acts  of  this 
virtue.  AVe  will  not  repeat  how  she  carried  out  her  obe- 
dience under  the  unconscionably  hard  Mother  M.  Theresa, 
when  she  had  to  expose  herself  to  the  mockery  and  laugh- 
ter of  seculars,  but  simply  quote  the  memorable  words  she 
then  spoke:  "If  my  Superior  and  an  angel  were  to  issue 
commands  to  me  at  one  and  the  same  time,  I  would  first 
obey  my  Superior;  because  in  this  obedience  there  is  no  de- 
ception, since  our  Lord  says:  'He  that  heareth  you  hear- 
ethMe.'" 

We  have  also  related,  in  general  terms,  the  manner  in 
which  Mother  Johanna  was  induced,  from  high  motives,  to 
impose  hard  trials  of  obedience  upon  her.  We  will  here 
subjoin  some  particular  instances:  Once,  in  the  winter- 
time, she  told  her  to  make  snow-balls  and  dry  them  at  the 
hot  stove.  Without  hesitation  she  obeyed,  and  when  the 
melted  snow  flowed  over  the  floor  of  the  refectory,  many 
Sisters  became  angry  at  such  a  "silly  trick"  and  told  her  to 
her  face  that  such  a  stupid  creature  never  came  into  a  con- 
vent before.  Then  they  complained  of  the  spouse  of  Christ 
to  the  Superioress,  who  imposed  a  severe  penance  on  her, 
which  Crescentia  joyfully  and  silently  fulfilled,  thereby 
doubling  the  merit  of  her  obedience.  Sometimes,  in 
obedience,  she  would  sweep  with  the  bare  handle  of  a 
broom,  would  make  snow-balls  in  winter  and  throw  them 
into  the  brook  running  through  the  premises,  and 
set  plants  with  the  roots  upwards  and  the  leaves  in  the 
ground.  The  readiness,  simplicity,  and  cheerfulness  with 
which  she  carried  out  such  commands  were  admirable;  she 
performed  them  as  if  she  were  doing  the  holiest  work.  In 
doing  so  she  did  not  experience  a  natural  repugnance,  and 
had,  for  instance,  when  setting  the  plants  in  the  wrong  way, 
the  profound  thought,  although  it  sounds  oddly,  that  it 
might  be  better  so,  since  Heaven  could  certainly  give  more 

1  I.  Pet.  i.  32. 


252        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

power  to  the  roots  than  earth  could  yield.  When  the  Sis- 
ters once  asked  her  why  she  did  such  silly  things,  she  con- 
cealed her  virtue  under  the  humble  words: '  "I  am  such  a 
blockhead,  such  a  simpleton.  I  thought  the  snow  would 
dry  up,  and  that  it  was  better  to  sweep  with  the  stick  than 
with  the  broom.  I  am  such  a  fool  that  my  dear  Superioress 
and  my  beloved  Sisters  must  certainly  have  a  great  deal  of 
trouble  with  me." 

Mother  Johanna  once  told  her  to  remain  at  a  certain 
spot  in  the  garden;  she  obeyed  at  once.  God  permitted 
that  the  Superioress  should  forget  to  call  her  from  it.  She 
remained  on  this  same  spot  for  many  hours,  though  Sister 
Bernardino  Gast  gave  her  a  good  scolding  for  such  unac- 
countable idleness.  She  held  her  peace  and  remained 
there  until  finally  the  Mother  called  her  away.  Such  a 
wonderful  obedience  deserved  to  be  accompanied  by  visible 
miracles.  This  is  proved  by  the  following  occurrence, 
which  is  attested  by  many  witnesses  and  was  published  all 
over  the  town  :s  Mother  Johanna  commanded  Crescen- 
tia  to  bring  water  from  the  well  near  the  sacristy,  in  a 
sieve  which  had  holes  in  it  as  large  as  one's  fist.  The 
daughter  of  obedience  hastened  with  the  sieve  to  the  well, 
let  the  water  run  into  it  from  the  pipe,  and  carried  it  filled 
through  the  yard  and  the  refectory  up  to  the  room  of  the 
Superioress.  Three  Sisters,  M.  Elizabeth  Krimer,  M. 
Benedicta  Fez,  and  M.  Felicitas  Kempter  followed  her, 
wondering  at  such  a  sight.  The  Superioress  was  not  a  lit- 
tle perplexed  and  affrighted ;  she  praised  the  Lord,  but 
she  acted  as  if  nothing  out  of  the  way  had  taken  place. 
She  bade  Crescentia  carry  the  water  back  again,  pour  it 
into  the  brook,  and  hang  up  the  sieve  in  its  proper  place. 
Another  time,  in  holy  obedience,  she  filled  a  wash-tub  with 
water  from  the  same  sieve,  in  the  presence  of  many  eye- 
witnesses, and  then  emptied  it  again  in  the  same  manner.1 

1  Gabriel,  p.  188.    *  Summ.  N.  15, 6  24  et  passim.— Ott,  B.  II.  C.  9.-Gahrtel.  p.  187. 
3  Summ.  C.  I.  »  106  and  300.    Act.  B.  Kesp.  151.    The  sieve  is  stiil  kept  in  the  con- 
vent, a.s  a  re  iiieuikrauce  of  this  wonderful  occui  rviirr. 


Her  Obedience  of  Faith.  253 

These  miracles  of  obedience,  made  so  plain  to  the  exter- 
ior senses,  may  excite  the  greatest  admiration  in  those  who 
look  more  to  the  exterior  of  things,  than  to  their  interior 
essence  ;  in  reality,  however,  the  rare  and  almost  unheard- 
of  grace  that,  amid  all  these  trials,  she  was  preserved  from 
vexatious,  or  otherwise  evil  thoughts  against  her  Supe- 
riors, is  infinitely  more  precious  and  more  wonderful.1 
"  Rather  to  die  than  not  to  obey  ; "  this  maxim  of  hers 
she  obeyed  literally,  not  hesitating  to  expose  herself  to 
manifest  danger  of  death,  when  obedience  required  it. 
In  the  last  years  of  her  life,  she  was  once  so  sick  that  she 
had  eaten  nothing  for  quite  a  time,  and  seemed  to  be 
near  death.  The  Father  Provincial  was  of  opinion  that 
she  ought  to  eat  something  ;  she  replied  that  food  was  now 
injurious  to  her,  yet  if  obedience  required  it  she  would  be 
ready  at  once  to  take  something.  When  the  Superior  or- 
dered a  little  nourishment  to  be  given  to  her,  believing  it 
necessary  for  her,  she  forced  herself  to  carry  out  his  orders. 
The  food  thus  untimely  taken,  however,  caused  her  most 
excruciating  pains,  and  her  state  became  so  much  worse 
that  every  one  thought  she  was  going  to  die  at  once. 
As  the  by-standers  were  beside  themselves  with  anxiety 
and  grief,  she  very  calmly  said  :  "  It  is  not  necessary  to 
live,  but  it  is  indeed  necessary  to  obey."*  She  showed  the 
same  readiness  to  obey  during  her  last  sickness  ;  when 
her  confessor  advised  her  to  eat  something  her  reply  was  : 
"  If  your  reverence  wishes  it,  I  will  take  something  at 
once,  because  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  live,  but 
indeed  it  is  that  I  should  obey."  This  time,  however, 
he  did  not  venture  to  insist  on  carrying  his  command  out. 

Concerning  all  her  spiritual  exercises  she  followed  the  di- 
rection of  obedience,  which  obedience,  indeed,  took  the  first 
place  among  these  exercises.  Unluckily  all  religious  per- 
sons do  not  possess  this  power  of  separating  themselves 
from  their  own  will,  as  is  proved  by  the  complaints  they 


>  Gabriel,  p.  190.  »  Summ.  C.  I.  §  14.-0tt.  B.  II.  C.  9. 


254        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

make  when  they  are  disturbed  by  their  Superiors  in  exercis- 
es which  have  become  dear  to  them. 

Crescentia  applied  the  maxim,  "Nothing  without  obedi- 
ence," not  only  to  her  works  of  mortification,  prayers,  and 
occupations,  but  also  to  the  receiving  of  Holy  Communion, 
although,  without  it,  her  physical' life  seemed  to  pine  away 
in  weakness  and  sorrow.  She  said  one  exercise  of  obedi- 
ence was  dearer  to  her  than  a  thousand  Holy  Communions 
without  obedience.  This  sentiment  was  proved  often 
enough  by  her  actions,  when  her  confessors  and  Superiors, 
in  the  early  years  of  her  convent  life,  unexpectedly 
forbade  her  Holy  Communion,  on  some  feast-day  dear  to 
her,  and  just  when  she  was  prepared  to  go  with  the  rest  to 
the  table  of  the  Lord,  sent  her  into  the  kitchen  instead  : 
she  obeyed  without  a  wry  face,  and  without  any  inward 
irritability.  Once  she  was  ordered,  immediately  after  Com- 
munion, to  go  to  the  door  and  tend  it.  Calmly  she  left 
God,  for  God's  sake,  but  only  to  profit  by  it.  In  the  same 
way,  when  the  Infant  Jesus  had  appeared,  she  left  Him 
and  His  sweet  consolations  in  order  to  obey  the  signal  when 
the  door-bell  sounded.  The  virtue  of  obedience  was  more 
precious  to  her  than  visions  or  miracles.  Even  in  her 
ecstasies,  when  she  had  no  control  over  herself,  and  was  in- 
accessible to  exterior  influences,  the  voice  of  obedience 
brought  her  to  herself  ;  even  if  it  came  but  from  the  mouth 
of  a  Sister  bringing  her  a  message,  she  at  once  rose  and 
punctually  performed  the  duty.  A  sign  without  a  word 
would  even  be  sufficient,  as  the  following  will  show: ' 
One  day  after  Mass  her  confessor  passed  through  the  choir, 
and  noticed  that  the  servant  of  God  was  kneeling  at  her 
prie-dieu  in  profound  ecstasy,  with  her  eyes  closed.  She 
was  in  very  poor  health  at  the  time  and  he  thought  it  would 
be  better  for  her  to  be  seated  than  to  kneel.  With  this  in- 
tention he  raised  his  forefinger  to  indicate  his  will  ;  at  the 
same  instant  she  seated  herself.  That  by  a  special  in- 
spiration of  God  she  often  knew  and  fulfilled  the  commands 

•  ott,  B.  i. 


Her  Obedience  of  Faith.  255 

and  wishes  which  her  Superiors  merely  felt  interiorly  and 
did  not  express,  Mother  Johanna  says  she  had  herself  many 
times  experienced.1 

Every  trace  of  self-will  was  gradually  extinguished  with- 
in her  by  the  grace  of  God  ;  hence  it  was  her  delight  to 
submit  her  will,  not  only  to  the  will  of  her  Superiors  for 
God's  sake,  but  to  that  of  all  men  and  of  every  creature. 
The  words  of  Thomas  a  Kempis,4  "  Endeavor  rather  to  do 
the  will  of  another  than  thine  own,"  seemed  to  have  passed 
into  her  flesh  and  blood.  She  showed  this  in  a  special 
manner,  both  when  she  had  become  Superioress,  and  at 
the  time  when  she  accepted  the  office;  as  also  that  she  knew 
how  to  unite  this  office  with  the  exercise  and  merit  of  an  in- 
ferior. She  could  not  imagine  a  cross  greater  than  that  of 
being  the  Superioress,  and  it  was  with  tears  that  she  begged 
of  them  not  to  impose  it  on  her.  Nevertheless,  as  soon  as 
she  heard  the  word  "  Obedience,"  she  bowed  her  head  in 
quiet  resignation. 

She  then  asked  the  Father  Provincial  to  appoint  a  Sister 
whom  she  could  obey  with  the  merit  of  obedience,  in  every- 
thing relating  to  her  person  ;  he  appointed  Sister  M. 
Neth  her  assistant.  It  then  became  very  edifying  to  ob- 
serve how  far  she  extended  her  obedience  to  this  Sister  and 
how  punctually  she  fulfilled  it :  acting  thus  in  the  spirit  of 
a  true  daughter  and  imitatrix  of  the  holy  Father  Francis, 
who  likewise  used  to  obey  his  companion  in  all  simplicity. 
Without  humbly  asking  permission  from  her,  she  spoke  to 
no  stranger,  did  not  go  into  the  parlor,  or  make  use  of 
many  rights  of  a  Superior  ;  for  instance,  she  would  not 
grant  permission  to  speak  at  table  or  at  recreation  without 
having  first  asked  the  assistant.  To  this  humble  submis- 
sion to  Sister  M .  Anna,  we  may  perhaps  attribute  the  many 
liberties  which  she  took  as  secretary,  and  which  Crescentia 
bore  with  such  patience. 

It  deserves  yet  to  be  mentiond  how  perfectly  in  her  sick- 
nesses she  obeyed  the  doctors  and  nurses.  She  was  most 

1  Sumui.  and  Ott,  loc.  cit.— Gabriel,  p.  190.  *  Imitation  B.  III.  C.  23. 


256        The  Life  of  Vcn,  Mary  Crescentia. 

punctual  in  observing  all  the  regulations  of  the  doctor,  al- 
though she  knew  very  well  that  the  medicines  given  her  were 
rather  an  injury  to  her  than  a  benefit.  To  the  Sister  in 
attendance  she,  as  she  expressed  it  herself,  delivered 
up  her  whole  body,  and  was  indeed  so  much  without  a  will 
of  her  own,  that  she  let  her  determine  the  position  of  her 
body  and  would  not  change  it  without  permission.  With 
the  simplicity  of  a  child  she  would  ask  :  "  Do  I  lie  right 
now,  or  must  I  change  to  some  other  position  ?"  How 
she  practised  obedience  on  her  death-bed,  even  to  the 
very  departure  itself,  we  shall  have  occasion  to  admire 
hereafter. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  recommend  all  religious  to  pon- 
der well  the  petition  Avhich  she,  as  Superioress,  presented 
to  her  confessor,  Father  Pamer,  namely,  that  he  would 
please  to  pay  special  attention  to  the  preservation  and  in- 
crease of  the  spirit  of  obedience  in  the  community,  as  in  that 
case  "  everything  would  be  well."  Also,  the  beautiful  pas- 
sage of  Holy  Writ,  which  she  often  used  to  put  before  her 
novices,  can  never  be  sufficiently  meditated  on  by  all  men  : 
"  Obey  in  all  things  your  masters  .  .  .  not  serving  to  the  eye 
as  pleasing  men,  but  in  simplicity  of  heart,  fearing  God. 
Whatsoever  you  do,  do  it  from  the  heart  as  to  the  Lord, 
and  not  to  men."  ' 

>  Coloss.  ill.  22,  23. 


CHAPTER   XV. 
Crescentia  an  Angel  in  the  Flesh.1 

JN"  the  religious  state,  chastity  is  as  the  pupil 
of  the  eye ;  it  must  be  carefully  guarded  from 
the  smallest  speck  of  the  dust  of  impurity." 
With  these  words  Crescentia  used  to  exhort  her  Sisters 
in  religion  to  the  observance  of  the  vow  of  chastity  ;  but 
her  whole  appearance  was  so  brilliant  a  picture  of  virginal 
chastity  and  modesty,  that  a  glance  at  her  inflamed  the 
heart  with  a  greater  love  of  this  virtue  than  the  most  beau- 
tiful words  could  effect. 

The  words  spoken  by  our  Lord  of  the  glorified  children  of 
God,  <e  They  shall  be  as  the  angels  of  God  in  Heaven,"  *  were 
so  suitable  to  her  that  nearly  all  who  knew  her  applied  them 
to  her.  Father  Bartholomew  Binner,  S.  J.,  often  styled  her 
an  "angel  made  flesh,"  and  Father  Pamer  assures  us  that, 
"  in  this  virtue,  she  seemed  to  be  not  so  much  a  human 
being  as  a  Saint  of  Heaven,  or  an  angel  without  flesh." 
In  respect  to  this  virtue  she  had  three  rare  prerogatives : 

First,  her  reputation  was  so  spotless  that  not  even  the 
least  suspicion  was  ever  expressed  against  her  virginal  inno- 
cence. This  is  the  more  astonishing,  from  her  having  had 
during  the  greater  part  of  her  life  to  bear  with  wicked  ad- 
versaries and  cunning  calumniators.  But  virginal  modesty 
was  so  stamped  on  her  whole  being,  and  propriety  and  re- 
serve were  such  marked  features  in  her  conduct,  that  the 
most  mistrustful  eye  could  not  detect  in  her  the  slightest 
ground  on  which  to  base  suspicion.  Secondly,  she  was 
really  free  from  even  venial  sin  against  this  virtue,  as  far  as 
men  could  judge  ;  so  said  her  confessors.  She  herself  de- 
clared :  "I  would  rather  die  a  thousand  times  than 
suffer  the  shadow  of  a  fault  against  this  virtue."  Thirdly, 
she  was  one  of  those  rare  souls  who  never  had  a  tempta- 

1  Summ.  N.  14  §  1-115.          »  Matth.  xiii.  30. 


258        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

tion,  even  in  thought,  against  purity.  Like  an  innocent 
child  she  knew  nothing  of  the  opposite  vice  up  to  her  old  age, 
and  did  not  wish  to  know  anything  of  it.  This  extraordi- 
nary grace  of  God  she,  in  all  humility  and  gratitude  to  the 
Lord,  several  times  revealed  to  her  confessors  and  to  her 
Sisters  in  religion.  This  very  grace  the  devil  made  use  of, 
at  a  time  when  she  was  in  a  state  of  extreme  dereliction,  to 
torture  her  with,  by  exciting  her  to  entirely  groundless  anxi- 
ety, whether  she  herself  had  not  brought  this  state  upon 
herself  by  sins  against  holy  purity,  without  being  conscious 
of  them.  Her  complete  ignorance  of  the  hateful  vice  of  im- 
purity, joined  to  her  great  humility,  made  her  accessible  to 
such  anxieties.  This  truly  angelic  perfection  of  chastity 
presupposes  an  extraordinary  grace  of  God,  with,  on  her 
side,  an  extraordinary  fidelity  and  care  in  guarding  and 
fostering  this  beautiful  lily. 

In  her  sixth  year  she  had  already  taken  the  vow  of  per- 
petual chastity  ;  she  then  selected  St.  Aloysius  as  her  mod- 
el and  patron  of  holy  chastity.  The  love  of  this  heavenly 
virtue  was  ever  on  the  increase  within  her  heart  and  urged 
her  onward  to  strive  with  the  utmost  care  for  its  greatest 
perfection.  Although  no  sting  of  temptation  excited  her 
to  fervor,  but  love  alone  animated  her,  she  took  more 
pains  to  preserve  purity  than  the  generality  of  people 
can  resolve  to  do  when  beset  with  the  fiercest  temptations 
and  when  they  find  themselves  in  proximate  danger  of  fall- 
ing into  sin. 

Since  the  fall  of  Adam  this  lily  blooms  only  beneath  the 
thorns  of  mortification.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  she  ap- 
plied the  bridle  of  severe  discipline  to  all  the  senses  of  the 
body  and  to  every  feeling  of  the  heart.  She  allowed  her 
eyes  no  inquisitive  looks,  not  even  on  harmless  objects;  she 
permitted  her  hand  and  other  members  neither  movement 
nor  convenient  positions,  without  adequate,  reasonable 
cause.  The  covenant  she  had  made  with  her  eyes,  that  they 
should  not  look  on  vanity,  she  kept  so  strictly,  that  for  the 
most  part  she  kept  her  eyes  cast  down  to  the  ground,  so 


Crescent ia  an  Angel  in  the  Flesh.         259 

that  she  knew  very  few  persons  by  sight,  or  by  their  form 
or  stature.  Even  Sisters  who  had  been  with  her  for  many 
years  had  never  seen  her  eyes  so  as  to  distinguish  their 
color.  Father  Parner  asserts  that  he  visited  her  often  in 
her  last  sickness  and  for  a  length  of  time  ;  yet  she  never 
looked  at  him  but  once  and  that  was  half  an  hour  before 
her  death.  The  sight  of  one  eye  was  already  gone;  she  di- 
rected the  other  towards  him  to  bid  him  "  Good-bye." 
"  At  this  look/'  he  says,  "  there  arose  in  my  heart  a  sweet 
consolation,  an  unspeakable  joy  such  as  I  have  never  felt 
during  my  whole  life.  She  then  closed  her  chaste  eyes 
forever." '  In  religious  pictures,  also,  she  required  the 
strictest  modesty  in  the  drapery  of  the  figures.  On  this 
head  she  once  earnestly  remonstrated  with  an  artist  who 
was  working  for  the  convent  and  had  permitted  himself 
some  liberties  in  the  construction  of  a  picture,  which  free- 
dom she  required  him  to  correct. 

As  she  would  not  even  listen  to  the  current  news,  we 
may  imagine  with  what  disgust  she  rejected  any  language 
that  was  too  free.  She  became  pale  as  death  and  trembled 
in  every  limb  when  a  word  was  uttered  which  she  consid- 
ered immodest.  She  even  blushed  and  turned  away  when 
the  conversation  touched  upon  personal  beauty,  vain  dress, 
or  delicious  food,  as  she  deemed  such  topics  unfit  for  a 
spouse  of  Jesus  Christ.  She  would  then  say  :  "  God 
alone  is  beautiful,  and  the  source  of  all  beauty  ;  Christ  is 
the  most  beautiful  among  the  children  of  men.  A  spouse 
of  Christ  must  look  on  no  other  beauty,  think  of  no  other, 
much  less  speak  of  any  other.  Her  heart  belongs  to  the 
heavenly  Spouse  alone ;  her  mouth  must  utter  only  holy 
things,  and  she  must  only  speak  on  the  subjects  that  lead 
to  holy  thoughts."  Though  she  liked  music,  sang  well, 
and  loved  to  sing,  she  would  only  listen  to  religious  hymns 
and  to  such  music  as  excited  holy  feelings. 

In  her  deportment  and  behavior  she  observed  the  great- 
est modesty.    Before  strangers,  and,  when  feasible,  even  be- 
1  ott.  B.  ri.  c.  10. 


260        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcscentia. 

fore  the  Sisters,  she  kept  her  hands  under  the  scapular. 
She  would  not  even  permit  the  Sisters  to  kiss  her  hands  or 
even  touch  them.  A  report  says '  that  she  immediately 
and  often  washed  her  hands  when  they  had  been  unex- 
pectedly kissed  by  ladies  from  the  outside  world.  She 
avoided  every  near  approach  of  the  body  towards  others, 
and  cautioned  her  Sisters  against  the  practice,  especially 
with  persons  of  the  opposite  sex. 

If  we  now  recall  to  mind  that  she  crucified  her  flesh 
with  the  severest  exercises  of  mortification,  we  shall  be  able 
to  understand  well,  that  all  who  knew  her  could  say  that 
no  one  could  behold  this  angelical  virgin  without  perceiv- 
ing the  sweetest  fragrance  of  charity  around  her,  together 
with  a  breath  of  heavenly  purity  which  inflamed  the  heart 
with  love  for  this  beautiful  virtue.  Even  the  perfume  that 
exhaled  from  her  body  after  death  and  was  often  percepti- 
ble during  her  life,  thus  giving  evidence  of  having  a  super- 
natural character,  affords  full  proof  of  her  appearing  be- 
fore God  as  a  true  lily  among  thorns,  brilliantly  shining  in 
its  snow-white  innocence,  and  diffusing  far  and  wide  the 
sweet  odor  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  would  seem  as  if  God  had  imparted  to  her  the  special 
grace  of  weakening  the  opposite  vice  in  others,  and  of  fos- 
tering the  love  and  practice  of  chastity.  Many  confessed 
openly  that  when  tormented  by  severe  temptations  to  im- 
purity, they  were  relieved  from  them  by  a  mere  look  at  this 
angel  in  the  flesh  ;  or  by  a  mere  remembrance  of  her  that 
they  have  been  not  only  delivered  from  temptation,  but 
filled  with  a  sensible  love  for  virtue.  After  her  death  she 
came  to  the  assistance  of  such  as  invoked  the  help  of  her 
prayers  for  this  purpose  in  a  much  more  forcible  manner. 
Father  Pamer  and  Father  Ott  *  alike  testify  to  having  met 
with  remarkable  proofs  of  this  in  their  experience  as 
priests.  The  latter  of  these  mentions  one  case  in  particular 
of  a  young  man  who  had  long  been  habitually  fettered  by 
the  commission  of  one  of  the  worst  forms  of  this  kind  of 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  ObJ.  N.  15  ?  ~>A.  »  Ott,  B.  I. 


Crescentia  an  Angel  in  the  Flesh.         261 

sin ;  by  his  advice  he  had  recourse  to  the  intercession  of 
the  deceased  virgin,  and  had  been  immediately  and  per- 
manently preserved  from  any  relapse  into  sin. 

She  wept  bitter  tears  over  the  terrible  lot  of  so  many 
Christians  who  seek  their  happiness  in  the  flesh,  and  find 
for  time  and  for  eternity  nothing  but  pain  of  heart.  She 
would  have  shed  her  blood  a  thousand  times  to  procure  for 
them  the  grace  of  enlightenment.  She  never  wearied  of 
exhorting  her  Sisters  to  come  to  the  aid  of  these  unhappy 
slaves  of  impurity  by  prayer  and  penance,  as  also  in  their 
own  persons  to  strive  to  achieve  the  highest  degree  of  this 
virtue.  The  doctrine  which  she  inculcated  for  this  pur- 
pose has  lost  nothing  of  its  value  for  our  own  needs  j  we 
will  then  give  a  summary  of  it  for  our  personal  edification. 
She  said :  "  We  cannot  be  too  much  on  our  guard  with 
respect  to  this  dangerous  point  ;  we  ought  to  be  on 
the  watch  to  catch  the  'little  foxes/1  lest  they  destroy 
the  vineyard  of  the  Beloved  :  these  foxes  are,  inquisitive- 
ness  of  the  eyes,  talkativeness  of  the  tongue,  immoderate 
laughter,  effeminacy  of  life,  idleness,  and  intercourse  that 
might  become  dangerous.  Eeligious  (that  is,  persons  be- 
longing to  a  religious  Order)  have  a  very  jealous  Bride- 
groom, who  wants  the  whole  heart  and  suffers  no  one  to 
divide  it  with  Him.  We  ought  to  avoid  even  the  remotest 
occasions  as  far  as  possible,  and  it  is  a  veritable  poison  to 
be  with  persons  for  whose  society  we  feel  a  sensible  incli- 
nation. Towards  such,  whether  they  be  secular,  religious, 
or  ecclesiastics,  we  should,  when  conversation  is  unavoida- 
ble, be  cold  and  serious  in  our  behavior  ;  particular  friend- 
ships, even  if  at  first  they  appear  to  be  altogether  spiritual 
and  holy,  become  at  length  dangerous  and  prejudicial ; 
finally,  humility  is  the  only  guardian  of  chastity." 

0  Christian,  observe  these  admonitions !  If  God  has  given 
you  a  vocation  to  virginal  chastity,  be  grateful  to  Him,  be 
humble  and  devout  ;  also  consider  well  the  words  of  St.  Paul 
the  Apostle:  "The  virgin  thinketh  on  the  things  of  the 
Lord,  that  she  may  be  holy,  both  in  body  and  in  spirit/'2 

1  Compare  Canticle  ii.  15.  *  I.  Cor.  vll.  34. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
How  Truly  Crescentia  Loved  Poverty. 

|  HE  riches  of  Christ  are  only  communicated  to  the 
poor  in  spirit.  If  the  heart  is  not  void  of  love 
for  temporal  goods,  if  the  spirit  is  not  humbled 
by  self-contempt,  and  as  it  were  annihilated  in  itself,  there 
will  be  no  room  free  in  the  interior  for  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
enter  ;  and  reversing  this,  as  a  master  of  spiritual  life  says  : 
"  To  be  emptied  of  every  creature,  is  to  be  full  of  God." 

We  have  already  seen  how  mortified  and  humble  Cres- 
centia was  in  self-love  ;  from  this  it  follow  sof  itself  that 
she  must  have  been  so  much  the  more  free  from  the 
love  for  external  goods,  and  must  have  possessed  evangel- 
ical poverty  in  a  high  degree,  for  love  for  ourselves  is  the 
iron  chain  that  binds  us  to  what  is  beneath — to  the 
shadows  of  creatures.  In  regard  to  poverty  of  spirit,  she 
revealed  the  plenitude  of  this  poverty  in  the  following  words, 
which  came  from  the  depths  of  her  heart :  "I  would  not  lift 
a  foot  for  all  the  treasures  of  the  world."  In  the  use  of  tem- 
poral things  she  always  preferred  poverty  to  abundance. 

This  love  of  poverty  had  grown  up  with  her  from  in- 
fancy. There  had  always  been  great  ppverty  and  privation 
in  her  parents'  home,  and  already  as  a  child  she  had  cheer- 
fully borne  the  consequences  of  it ;  while,  even  then,  her 
enlightened  mind  discovered  the  high  supernatural  priv- 
ileges hidden  beneath  temporal  want,  namely,  the  gaining 
of  grace,  together  with  the  glorious  resemblance  it  bore  to 
the  holy  family  who  lived  in  poverty,  Jesus,  Mary,  and 
Joseph.  In  latter  years  she  expressed  herself  on  this  sub- 
ject as  follows  :  She  acknowledged  it  as  a  special  grace  of 
God  that  He  had  given  her  "  poverty  as  a  heritage." 
She  loved  to  boast  of  it,  thanking  God  and  men,  even  on 
her  death-bed,  that  it  was  only  out  of  compassion  that  she 
had  been  received  into  the  community. 


How  Truly  Crescentia  Loved  Poverty.     263 

Property  and  money  were  to  this  genuine  daughter  of  the 
seraphic  poor  man  of  Assisi  the  most  indifferent  things  in  the 
world.  "  What  have  I  to  do  with  this  straw  and  this  stone  ?  " 
This  was  the  manner  in  which  she  spoke  of  money. 
When,  by  her  profession,  she  had  become  "  wedded  to  holy 
poverty,"  her  love  for  it  increased  to  that  degree  that  she 
trod  perfectly  in  the  footsteps  of  the  holy  Father,  and  as 
lie,  in  sublime  words,  had  extolled  poverty  as  his  spouse  and 
consort,  so  did  she  pour  forth  the  enthusiasm  of  her  love 
in  most  beautiful  eulogies  of  the  glorious  "  mother,"  pov- 
erty, which  she  loved  more  than  the  rich  love  their  riches, 
or  the  vain  their  vanities.  The  source  of  this  love,  which 
exteriorly  appeared  almost  fantastic,  was  faith  in  and 
love  for  Christ,  who,  "being  rich,  became  poor  for  your 
sakes."  She  willingly  tarried  in  spirit  in  the  poor  little 
house  at  Nazareth  and  in  the  stable  at  Bethlehem,  that  in 
the  marvellous  mirror  of  the  holy  family  of  God  she  might 
comprehend  the  picture  of  perfect  poverty.  She  used  to 
call  the  little  house  of  Nazareth,  "her  lovely  cell."  There 
the  Redeemer  could  ever  be  found,  poor,  bereft  of  every- 
thing earthly ;  there  we  could  learn  of  Him  true  poverty. 
And  then  the  glance  upon  the  cross,  upon  the  Lord  of  the 
world,  hanging  there  between  Heaven  and  earth,  may  teach 
men  to  love  that  poverty  which  left  Him  no  place  on 
earth  whereon  to  lay  His  head. 

But  beautiful  words  were  not  enough  for  her  ;  she  prac- 
tised this  virtue,  and  kept  her  vow  in  the  most  perfect 
manner.  Since  the  vow  of  poverty  excludes  the  right  of 
private  property,  she  avoided  the  least  appearance  of  lay- 
ing claim  to  anything,  and  found  an  inexpressible  consola- 
tion in  having  nothing  save  God  alone.  "I  have  nothing 
of  my  own,"  was  her  expression;  "God's  treasures  are 
mine ;  that  is  my  joy  "  She  avoided  in  every  case  the 
use  of  the  word  mine  in  reference  to  the  temporal  things 
appointed  to  her  use  ;  and  it  made  her  sad  whenever 
she  heard  any  of  the  Sisters  use  any  such  form  of  speech 

1  II.  Cor.  viii.  !i. 


264        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

as,  my  beads,  my  cell.  She  never  failed  to  correct  them 
with  such  words  as  :  "  Far  be  from  us  the  cold  words,  mine 
and  thine ;  for  we  are  poor  in  Christ,  and  own  nothing. 
It  is  my  greatest  joy  that  I  have  nothing  but  my  dear  God, 
and  in  Him  infinite  good."  The  most  enviable  lot 
seemed  to  her  to  be  to  resemble  the  Lord  in  not  having 
whereon  to  lay  His  head ;  while  to  possess  more  and  to  be 
better  taken  care  of  than  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  earth 
seemed  to  her  something  very  unbecoming  a  religious,  par- 
ticularly for  one  like  her,  who  had  been  taken  into  the  con- 
vent for  "  compassion's  sake,"  and  could  not  make  the 
smallest  pretension  to  anything.  For  this  reason  she 
scarcely  ate  anything,  and  when  the  very  worst  was  given 
her,  such  food  as  a  beggar  would  have  refused,  she  returned 
thanks  with  a  heartiness  rarely  seen  in  others,  when  they 
have  received  great  and  undeserved  favors. 

As  the  vow  of  poverty  permits  the  members  of  a  religious 
order  the  use  of  things  only  as  depending  on  the  permis- 
sion of  the  Superiors,  she  acted  in  this  regard  with  rigid 
exactness.  She  would  not  accept,  use,  borrow,  or  lend 
the  least  thing  without  the  permission  of  the  Superioress  ; 
not  a  needle,  not  a  piece  of  paper,  not  a  pen.  She  would 
never  be  satisfied  with  (which  in  trivial  things  is  really  per- 
mitted) a  silent  or  a  general  permission.  She  accustomed 
her  novices  to  a  like  strictness  ;  they  could  not  go  to  bed 
without  first  having  obtained  permission  for  any  pin  they 
might  have  borrowed.  The  same  strictness  she  exacted  in 
regard  to  articles  of  devotion,  such  as  religious  pictures, 
beads,  scapulars,  which  in  latter  years  she  distributed  some- 
what numerously  ;  even  in  things  purely  spiritual  and  which 
therefore  do  not  come  under  the  vow  of  poverty.  Priests, 
both  secular  and  religious,  often  promised  to  say  Masses 
for  her  intention  ;  this  gave  her  much  pleasure,  but  she 
never  accepted  them,  without  first  having  obtained  per- 
mission to  do  so.  Many  there  were  who  found  fault  with 
this,  calling  it  over-nicety  or  scrupulosity.  She.  however, 
considered  these  things  from  the  stand-point  of  the  great- 


How  Truly  Cre  scent  ia  Loved  Poverty.      265 

est  perfection  and  said  :  "  I  know  of  no  difference  between 
great  things  and  small ;  everything,  however  small  it  may 
be,  is  great  if  performed  for  God's  sake  and  for  the  more 
perfect  observance  of  a  vow." 

The  perfection  of  poverty  is  very  strikingly  shown  in  an- 
other exercise  of  it,  which  St.  Vincent  Ferrer  expresses  in 
the  following  words  : '  "I  know  that  merely  to  be  poor  is 
not  praiseworthy,  but  rather  in  poverty  to  love  to  be  poor, 
and  cheerfully  and  joyfully  to  bear  the  needs  entailed  by 
poverty,  for  Christ's  sake.  Unfortunately,  many  plume 
themselves  on  the  title  of  poverty,  on  condition  that  they 
want  nothing  :  they  style  themselves  friends  of  poverty,  but 
flee  from  its  companions,  hunger,  want,  contempt."  Not 
thus  the  servant  of  God ;  she  willingly  restricted  her  neces- 
sities to  the  smallest  measure ;  selected  for  herself  the 
worst,  the  hardest,  the  most  severe  lot,  and  welcomed  with 
a  pleasant  face  and  cheerful  heart  all  the  privations  and 
painful  effects  of  poverty. 

The  great  mortifications  to  which  she  subjected  herself 
in  regard  to  the  quantity  and  quality  of  food  which  we 
have  already  mentioned,  she  also  undertook  in  the  spirit 
and  under  the  impulse  of  poverty.  What  was  left  of  the 
food  of  others,  and  what  was  set  apart  for  the  poor,  she 
preferred  from  love  of  poverty,  and  when  she  had  her 
choice,  was  satisfied  with  it.  With  regard  to  clothes,  she 
begged  Jor  such  as  had  been  laid  aside  by  the  other  Sisters 
as  worn-out  ;  she  then  patched  them  up,  kept  them  ex- 
tremely clean,  wore  them  as  precious  garments,  and 
used  them  with  such  care  and  precaution,  that  a  worn-out 
habit  would  last  her  longer  than  an  entirely  new  one  would 
the  other  Sisters.  She  had  learned  this  practice  of  pov- 
erty at  her  very  entrance  into  the  community.  The  evil- 
minded  Superioress  had  given  the  poor  maiden  only  rag- 
ged garments,  which  had  become  unavailable  to  others. 
She  accepted  them  in  humility  and  joy,  and  knew  very  well 
how  to  make  them  suitable  to  herself. 2 

1  De  Vita  Spirit.  2  Gabriel,  p.  :.or. 


266       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

In  after  times  she  was  compelled  by  obedience  to  wear 
new  garments  ;  she  then  considered  these  as  the  sacred 
property  of  Christ  and  was  so  careful  of  them  that  she  gen- 
erally made  them  last  twice  or  three  times  as  long  as  those 
of  the  other  Sisters ;  and  yet  no  one  could  ever  see  that  they 
were  stained  or  torn.  "  For,"  said  she,  ' '  torn  clothing  in 
a  religious  is  rather  a  sign  of  sloth  or  of  negligence,  than  of 
holy  poverty." 

In  her  dwelling  and  in  the  furniture  of  her  cell,  she 
wished  to  feel  the  extremest  privation  and  positive  want, 
believing  that  this  alone  constitutes  real  riches,  high  prof- 
it, true  pleasure.  "We  have  already  noted  the  opportun- 
ity she  had  of  putting  these  sentiments  into  practice  and 
the  heroic  poverty  which  she  exercised,  when  for  two 
years  she  had  no  cell  of  her  own,  and  also  when  she  was 
shut  up  in  a  dark  room  ;  we  will  now  add  that  even  in  her 
old  age  it  gave  her  pleasure  to  think  of  this,  and  she  as- 
serted that  she  had  never  been  so  happy  as  then.1  Out 
of  love  for  poverty  she  would  not  have  a  light  in  her  cell, 
even  in  winter,  but  availed  herself  of  the  light  that  glim- 
mered from  the  opposite  cell  when  she  opened  her  door. 
She  endured  cold  patiently  and  cheerfully  in  union 
with  the  holy  family.  During  her  many  attacks  of  sick- 
ness, she  never  expressed  a  wish  or  desire  to  have  anything 
special  procured  for  herself  ;  she  thought  even  the  worst 
too  good,  "  because,"  she  said,  "we  have  not  entered  the 
convent  to  live  according  to  our  ease,  but  to  follow  Christ 
in  poverty  and  contempt." 

But  severe  as  she  was  in  regard  to  herself,  she  practised 
great  love  and  consideration  in  favor  of  others,  especially 
if  they  were  old,  feeble,  or  even  sick.  She  looked  on  the 
poor  with  a  kind  of  holy  envy  if  their  poverty  seemed 
greater,  exteriorly,  than  her  own.  Like  her  holy  Father, 
blessed  Francis,  she  then  felt  great  confusion,  and 
said  :  "  Oh,  how  poor  is  this  person  in  comparison  with 
myself,  and  yet  he  loves  and  serves  God  better  than 

1  Summ.  N.  13  8  53. 


How  Truly  Crescentia  Loved  Poverty.      267 

I  do  !  Yes,  I  am  unworthy  to  stand  under  the  feet  of 
beggars,  who  embrace  poverty  from  love  of  God  and  en- 
dure it  with  such  great  patience." 

She  used  the  articles  of  the  convent  with  the  greatest 
economy.  In  the  kitchen  she  let  nothing  spoil,  neither  a 
morsel  of  pulse,  of  fruit,  nor  a  bit  of  bread  ;  she  was  saving 
with  the  wood,  that  no  piece  might  be  uselessly  burned, 
and  was  as  sparing  as  possible  even  with  the  warm 
water.  Whatsoever  could  be  used,  were  it  but  a  thread  or 
a  chip,  she  picked  up  carefully,  that  "  it  might  not  per- 
ish uselessly,  but  attain  the  end  for  which  God  created 
it."  With  all  these  practices  of  poverty,  she  was  even 
yet  not  satisfied  ;  she  would  like  to  have  gone  begging 
from  door  to  door  and  then  divide  the  alms  she  received 
with  the  poor.  Had  obedience  not  conquered  her  love  of 
poverty,  she  would  not  have  retained  the  most  necessary 
articles  in  her  cell. 

Perhaps  the  greatest,  or  at  least  the  most  painful  trial  of 
her  obedience,  was  when  at  times  the  Superioress  com- 
pelled her  to  take  things  into  her  room  which  seemed  to 
her  not  to  be  in  keeping  with  holy  poverty.  Some  ladies 
of  the  higher  classes,  for  instance,  importuned  the  Super- 
ioress to  force  the  servant  of  God  to  accept  and  retain  cer- 
tain presents,  such  as  beautiful  pictures  or  flowers,  with 
which  to  decorate  the  little  altar  in  her  cell.  The  Superior- 
ess could  not  always  resist  such  petitions,  and  then  Crescen- 
tia fell  into  great  distress  of  mind.  She  yielded,  but  soon 
found  a  way  to  obtain  permission  to  give  these  things  away 
to  the  poor  or  to  churches.  Yet  she  was  oppressed,  and 
often  sighed  for  permission  to  clear  out  her  cell  entirely. 
That  this  expression  came  really  from  her  heart,  was  proved 
by  her  conduct  when  the  Superioress,  at  the  direction 
of  the  Father  Provincial,  once  took  away  everything,  even 
the  crucifix,  from  her  cell.  On  leaving  the  Church  and 
entering  her  cell,  finding  it  entirely  empty,  she  rejoiced, 
saying :  "  Praise  and  thanks  be  to  God  !  at  length  I 
find  what  I  have  sought  so  long ;  now,  indeed,  I  am  rich. 


268        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

All  my  life-time  I  never  had  it  so  nice  ;  at  last  I  can  say 
with  St.  Francis  :  '  My  God  and  my  all  ! '  Besides  Him, 
I  want  nothing  in  Heaven  and  on  earth." 

Many  persons  of  the  higher  classes,  who  visited  her, 
wished  to  present  her  with  abundant  alms,  to  be  used  at 
her  pleasure  for  the  community,  for  the  Church,  or  for 
the  poor.  She  would  never  take  anything  for  herself,  nor 
would  she  interfere  with  the  distribution  of  these  presents, 
or  even  ascertain  what  became  of  them;  she  left  the  whole 
concern  in  the  hands  of  the  Superioress,  even  the  support 
given  expressly  by  several  benefactors  for  Regina,  her  own 
sick  and  afflicted  sister.  When  money  or  other  articles 
were  sent  to  her  she  would  not  suffer  them  for  a  single 
moment  in  her  cell,  but  at  once  carried  them  to  the  Super- 
ioress, with  the  request  that  she  would  dispose  of  them  in 
some  other  way.  This  was  done ;  many  poor  persons  were 
assisted,  many  churches  were  provided  with  vestments 
and  other  needed  articles.  "Our  own  chapel  in  the  house,'* 
says  Father  Ott,  "can  bear  witness  to  this  fact."  The 
Duchess  of  Savoy,  who  had  also  made  rich  presents  to  the 
children  of  Oescentia's  sister,  wished  to  endow  her  with 
an  annual  rental  of  two  hundred  florins,1  that  with  the 
approbation  of  her  Superiors  she  might  dispose  of  it.  But 
she  could  not,  by  any  means  whatever,  be  induced  to  accept 
of  this,  either  for  herself  or  the  community.  She  advised 
the  Duchess  to  accord  this  support  to  the  very  poor  con- 
vent of  Clares  at  Heilbron,  which  was  situated  in  the 
midst  of  Protestants.  This  disinterestedness  edified  the 
noble  lady  so  much  that  she  annually  donated  five 
hundred  florins  to  the  convent  at  Heilbron,  and  after- 
Avards  even  seven  hundred.  And  because  Crescentia  did 
not  at  all  rely  on  human  means,  but  trusted  entirely 
and  solely  to  poverty  and  to  God,  He  blessed  the  con- 
vent so  abundantly  that  in  regard  to  its  temporalities 
also,  she  may  be  regarded  as  its  second  foundress. 
Although,  while  she  remained  a  subject,  she  never 

1  Father  Ott  says  three  liundm]. 


How  Truly  Crescentia  Loved  Poverty.     269 

troubled  herself  about  these  temporal  interests,  and  even 
as  Superioress  left  them  to  her  assistant,  M.  Anna  Neth, 
who,  with  the  aid  of  her  brother,  John  Baptist  Neth,  the 
so-called  spiritual  father  of  the  convent,  took  good  care  of 
these  matters. 

Her  confidence  in  the  Father  of  the  poor  was  boundless. 
She  said:  "I  should  fear  to  sin,  if  I  had  merely  an 
anxious  thought  about  temporal  things,  since,  by  the  virtue 
of  hope,  I  can  rely  with  absolute  certainty  on  the  Divine 
Providence,  omnipotence,  and  fidelity.  She  was  pene- 
trated through  and  through  with  the  feeling  that  she 
lived  on  the  alms  of  divine  mercy  as  one  of  the  poor. 
On  her  death-bed  she  returned  thanks  to  God,  exalting 
Him  highly  for  having  caused  her  to  be  born  in  poverty 
and  to  live  and  die  therein  ;  then,  with  deep  emotion, 
she  thanked  the  Sisters  for  having  taken  her  in  as  a 
poor  girl,  for  "mercy's  sake,"  and  supported  her  for  so 
many  years.  She  prayed  that  God  might  abundantly  re- 
ward them  for  their  goodness.  She  had  still  another  favor 
to  ask  of  them  :  it  was,  that  after  her  death,  they 
would  receive  another  poor  maiden  for  God's  sake,  in 
her  stead,  and  without  a  dowry  ;  Christ  had  promised 
her  that  He  would  richly  reward  the  convent  for  such  an 
act  of  charity.  All  the  Sisters  promised,  with  tears,  to  fulfil 
this  wish.  There  is  even  now  preserved  in  the  convent  a 
paper,  which  was  found  after  her  death,  written  by  her  own 
hands,  in  which  she  repeats  this  petition,  with  the  promise 
Christ  had  given.  This  is  perhaps  the  only  case  in  which  she 
herself  wrote  down  a  revelation.  A  copy  of  it  is  as  follows  : 

To  THE  HONOR  OF  GOD. 

Once  I  prayed  my  Beloved  that  He  would  deign  to  reward 
and  repay  the  great  love  shown  by  my  beloved  Sisters,  in  hav- 
ing taken  me,  a  poor  unworthy  creature,  into  the  holy  Order 
and  admitted  me  to  profession  ;  also  that  He  would  favor 
the  convent  with  His  holy  blessing,  that  the  Sisters  might 
suffer  no  want  of  temporal  goods,  and  be  preserved  and 


270        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

guarded  from  every  evil  of  body  and  soul.  Thy  holy  will 
be  done.  Then  my  Beloved  said  to  me,  the  unworthy: 
"  My  child,  I  have  heard  thy  prayer,  and  in  this  wise  : 
after  thy  death,  I  will  withdraw  My  blessing  and  grace 
from  them  a  little,  that  they  may  know  and  see  what  My 
grace  is.  After  that  their  eyes  will  be  opened/'  Again  I 
prayed  :  "Ah,  my  beloved  and  divine  Father!  I  pray  Thee, 
for  Thy  love's  sake,  do  not  keep  Thy  divine  grace  long 
away  from  them  ;  hasten  soon  to  their  assistance."  My 
beloved  Spouse  spoke  further  to  me  :  "  My  child,  if,  after 
thy  death,  they  take  in  again  a  poor  person  for  love  of  Me, 
I  will  again  give  them  My  grace  and  blessing ;  but  they 
must  take  in  one  who  is  virtuous  and  has  a  good  will,  and 
when  this  one  dies,  they  must  take  in  another  and  con- 
tinue to  do  so.  In  this  wise,  My  child,  have  I  heard 
thy  prayer,  and  these  words  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee 
do  thou  write  down,  that  they  may  be  found  after  thy  death 
and  carried  out."  This,  by  His  order  and  in  obedience  I 
have  done.  This  petition  has  always,  up  to  these  last 
years,  been  faithfully  fulfilled  by  the  Sisters. 

In  conclusion,  we  append  some  few  maxims  of  the  ser- 
vant of  God,  concerning  religious  poverty: 

"  The  foundation  of  religious  life  is  poverty  ;  if  that  is 
gradually  underminded  by  transgression,  all  other  virtues 
will  be  overturned,  and  the  convent  approaches  its  ruin."- 
"  A  religious  is  never  more  happy  than  when  she  suffers 
the  want  of  things  really  necessary." — "  Gold  and  straw 
have  an  equal  value." — "The  effects  of  poverty  are  true 
riches,  and  I  never  possess  so  much  as  when  I  have  nothing. " 
With  this  we  conclude  the  description  of  her  virtues. 
The  grand  picture  which  we  admire  in  her  is  but  a  copy  of 
the  original,  of  the  Crucified. 

You  too,  0  Christian  soul,  must,  as  St.  Paul  says,  be 

"  transformed  into  the  same  image as  by  the  Spirit 

of  the  Lord."  '     For  that  reason  do  not  desist  from  "  look- 
ing on  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  faith,  who  having  joy 
set  before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame."* 
1  II.  Cor,  lit  18.         »  Hebr.  xll.  2. 


Creseentia's    Work   for     Others. — Her 
Death  and  the  Veneration  paid  Her 

CHAPTER  I. 
Crescentia  as  Mistress  of  Novices. 

j]OD,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  grants  the  treasures  of 
extraordinary  graces  to  chosen  souls,  in  order  to 
make  use  of  them  as  instruments  to  conduct  the 
current  of  mercy  to  others  and,  as  it  were,  to  diffuse  it.  The 
holier  and  humbler  a  soul  is,  the  more  she  lives  a  hidden 
life  with  Christ  in  God,  the  more  will  she  become  a  fruitful 
source  of  grace  to  the  circle  around  her. 

The  subject  of  our  narrative,  little  in  her  own  eyes,  as 
she  was  also  little  before  the  world,  resembled  the  grain  of 
wheat  in  the  Gospel,  which,  when  it  had  died,  yielded  much 
fruit.  Her  blessed  influence  extended  at  first  from  her  poor 
cell  to  her  own  convent,  then  went  out  to  continually 
widening  circles.  It  cannot  be  counted  how  many  souls 
God  has  led  to  conversion,  or  to  a  higher  perfection, 
through  her  mediation. 

First,  we  will  describe  her  work  as  Mistress  of  Nov- 
ices. This  office,  so  important  in  a  religious  community, 
she  held  for  many  years 1  with  the  greatest  blessing.  The 

1  There  is  some  discrepancy  in  the  accounts  about  the  time  she  held  that  office. 
Sister  Gabriel  says  in  her  MS.,  p.  133,  that  she  held  it  twenty-eight  years ;  the  docu- 
ment written  immediately  after  her  death  by  Amort  and  Bassi  afrrees  with  this  ac- 
count.—Act.  B.  Summ.  Obj.  But  Summ.  N.  10  §  69,  sets  it  at  nearly  twenty-four 
years,  and  Father  Ott,  B.  IV.  C.  11,  says :  She  was  Portress  seventeen  years  and  Mis- 
tress of  Novices  twenty-four.  But  it  may  be  that  for  a  term  of  years  she  filled  both 
offices  at  the  same  time. 


272        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

light  of  a  higher  wisdom  which  guided  her,  the  efficacy  ol 
an  example  so  perfect  in  every  virtue,  together  with  the 
power  of  her  prayer,  had  so  great  an  effect  that  she  brought 
forth  abundant  fruits  even  in  hearts  but  ill  prepared.  No- 
body could  long  resist  the  force  of  her  humility  and  love. 
It  must  have  made  a  powerful  impression  on  the  youthful 
minds  of  the  novices,  when  they  heard  their  mistress, 
whom  they  knew  to  be  a  mirror  of  every  virtue,  say  with 
obvious  simplicity  and  sincerity  :  "  Beloved  Sisters,  do 
not  look  at  my  evil  deeds,  and  do  not  turn  your  eyes  to- 
wards me,  for  I  am  a  mere  nothing  ;  but  remember  that 
God  speaks  to  you  by  me,  the  most  insignificant  of  creatures, 
and  know  that  your  merits  will  be  greater,  the  worse  I  am." 

Though  she  herself  had  the  most  exalted  ideas  concern- 
ing the  religious  state  and  the  perfection  suitable  to  per- 
sons consecrated  to  God,  and  well  knew  how  to  describe 
the  ideal  to  be  aimed  at,  in  plain  and  penetrating  words, 
she  yet  knew  the  weakness  of  human  nature  too  well  to 
ask  too  much  at  once.  With  a  motherly  love  and  patience 
she  condescended  to  the  imperfections  of  her  pupils,  con- 
quering even  great  faults  by  patience  and  forbearance. 
One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  leading  others  is  to  pierce 
through  the  veil  cast  by  exterior  faults,  and  find  out  the 
depths  of  a  soul  already  drawn  by  God's  grace  to  good 
works,  and  then  to  perceive  where  to  take  up  the  work 
which  grace  has  already  begun,  without  being  bewildered 
by  the  action  of  natural  weakness  and  corruption. 

How  well  Crescentia  understood  this,  and  how,  by  her 
patience,  forbearance,  and  love,  she  would  charm  the 
new-comers  in  the  Order,  we  are  told  by  the  testimony 
of  her  novices.  Sister  Gabriel  says,  with  great  can- 
dor :'  "When  by  disobedience  I  had  saddened  her,  or 
by  stubbornness  offended  her,  she  has  humbly  asked  my  par- 
don, which  filled  me  with  disgrace  and  shame  before  God 
and  man,  for  it  was  my  place  to  have  humbled  myself  and 
to  have  asked  forgiveness  of  her,  since  I  had  offended 

'  Gabriel,  p.  2CO. 


Cre scent ia  as  Mistress  of  Novices.         273 

her  ;  besides,  I  was  still  a  novice  ;  but  the  great  humility 
of  Crescentia  conquered  my  pride  also." 

Sister  M.  Michelina  Weiss  speaks  on  this  subject  as  fol- 
lows: "When,  as  a  novice,  I  showed  myself  stubborn 
against  her,  and  listened  to  her  motherly  admonitions  and 
loving  rebukes  with  a  wry  face  and  irritable  temper,  she, 
indeed,  as  was  her  duty,  remonstrated  with  me,  in  earnest 
words,  but  with  her  own  hand  she  showed  me  most  kindly 
how  to  perform  the  most  menial  work  and  explained  how  I 
should  always  have  a  good  intention  in  doing  it ;  nay,  with 
the  same  kindness  and  love  she  taught  me  the  same  thing 
over  again,  often  as  many  as  three  or  four  times.  I  can 
truly  say  that  the  mere  sight  of  Crescentia  has  been  to  me 
a  constant  instruction  in  humility,  meekness,  and  charity." 
Sister  M.  Joseph  Anger  says '  the  same,  to  her  great  hu- 
miliation, adding2  that  Crescentia  had  also  borne  with  in- 
exhaustible patience  the  complaints  and  unjust  reproaches 
uttered  by  some  of  the  elder  Sisters  against  the  Novice- 
Mistress  whenever  the  novices  had  made  a  mistake  or  com- 
mitted a  fault.  " Frequently,"  says  she,  "I  had  to  hear 
this,  and  my  heart  was  like  to  burst,  for  I  knew  well 
enough  that  all  the  fault  was  ours;  that  is,  it  came  from  our 
youthful  indiscretion  and  f orgetfulness,  and  in  no  way  from 
Crescentia,  who,  on  the  contrary,  did  all  that  could  be 
done,  and  more  than  I  can  tell." 

She  was  ready,  day  and  night,  to  console  and  to  instruct 
her  spiritual  daughters,  and  to  lighten  their  difficulties  by 
her  maternal  love.  They  might  come  to  her  at  any  hour. 
She  helped  them  at  their  work,  especially  when  it  was  hard 
and  menial ;  she  told  them  how  to  perform  it  from  the 
right  motive,  with  the  right  intention,  and  thereby  make 
it  easier  ;  and  she  did  all  this  with  so  much  cheerfulness, 
meekness,  and  immovable  patience  that  the  greatest  ob- 
stinacy had  to  yield  to  her  influence. 

All  the  novices  had  great  confidence  in  their  mistress,  as 
also  a  great  veneration  for  her.  They  soon  knew  by  ex- 

1  Gabriel,  p.  212.  «  Ibid.  p.  219. 


274        The  Life  of  yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

perience,  that  they  never  left  her  without  having  received 
consolation,  instruction,  and  strength.  Her  gift  of  cheer- 
ing and  elevating  timid  and  drooping  hearts  was  here  par- 
ticularly manifest.  Sister  Raphael  Miller  confesses,  in  re- 
gard to  herself  : l  "  During  my  novitiate,  I  was  very  much 
harassed  by  despondency,  so  much  so  that  I  had  nearly 
resolved  to  quit  the  convent.  At  length  I  made  known  my 
wretched  state  of  mind  to  dear  Mother  Crescentia  ;  she  gave 
me  such  great  and  powerful  encouragement  to  hope  in  God, 
that  I  have  enjoyed  the  greatest  peace  from  that  very  day." 
It  is  self-evident  that  she  prayed  with  particular  fervor 
for  those  souls  for  whom  she  had  to  give  an  account  to 
God  ;  nay,  she  seemed  to  take  Heaven  by  storm  in  their 
behalf,  especially  when  particular  reasons  called  for  it. 
Innumerable  times  she  repeated,  with  burning  zeal,  the 
sweet  words  of  the  Redeemer  :  "  Holy  Father,  keep  them 
in  Thy  name,  whom  Thou  hast  given  me  ;  Thine  they  were 
and  to  me  Thou  gavest  them. "  *  Great  as  her  love  was, 
the  watchfulness,  prudence,  and  wholesome  severity  with 
which  she  directed  her  pupils  were  equally  great.  Sister 
M.  Joseph  Anger  testifies:'  "As  for  the  rest,  Crescentia 
watched  us  novices  very  carefully,  looked  diligently  after 
our  work  and  after  all  that  we  did  ;  often,  when  we  least 
suspected  it,  she  was  there,  as  if  she  came  out  of  the  earth. 
She  loved  us  beyond  measure,  and  we  too  felt  a  sincere 
filial  love  for  her,  but  at  the  same  time  we  had  an  indescrib- 
able fear,  for  with  the  erring  or  wrong-doer  she  could  be 
as  stern  as  she  was  kind  at  other  times.  This  I  have  ex- 
perienced myself."  As  she  laid  so  great  a  stress  on  having 
a  good  intention,  and  on  remembering  the  presence  of  God, 
on  which  she  gave  lengthy  instructions,  she  took  care  that 
these  should  be  carried  out,  and  when  she  met  one  of  her 
pupils,  would  ask  whither  her  thought  and  desires  were 
directed.  The  novice  would  thus  often  have  to  acknowl- 
edge that  her  head  was  full  of  quite  other  matters.  Cres- 

>  Summ.  N.  8  8  54.         '  John  xvil.  11, 6.          >  Summ.  N.  11 1 817. 


Crescentia  as  Mistress  of  Novices.        275 

centia  would  then  sigh  and  say  with  great  warmth  : '  "Is 
that  serving  God,  is  that  loving  God  ?  Oh,  how  precious 
is  time,  which  gives  us  the  possibility  of  working  and 
suffering  for  the  love  of  God  ! " 

"With  a  holy  fervor  she  inculcated  the  necessity  of  morti- 
fication :  "  We  must  put  the  axe  to  the  root  and  conquer 
perfectly  the  inclination  to  sensuality,  ease,  and  external 
things  ;  the  reason  that  so  many  religious  do  not  acquire 
true  virtue  is  to  be  traced  to  this,  that  in  their  novitiate 
they  did  not  learn  to  subdue  the  affections  they  brought 
with  them  from  the  world.  We  ought  to  learn  to  conquer 
ourselves  heroically,  for  one  single  act  so  performed  would 
forward  one's  progress  more  than  a  hundred  ordinary 
ones."  With  resolute  earnestness  she  combated  the  sen- 
sitiveness so  dear  to  a  woman's  heart.  When  a  novice 
complained  to  her  of  an  offence  or  neglect,  she  would  say, 
with  mild  but  penetrating  words  :  "Is  that  humility  and 
an  imitation  of  Christ  ?  Instead  of  complaining  about 
such  trifles,  you  ought  to  thank  God  and  rejoice  at  them. 
Self-love  and  pride  occasion  these  feelings  of  sensitiveness; 
conquer  them  by  all  means,  mortify  them  most  diligently, 
for  they  are  mortal  enemies  to  true  virtue."  She  recom- 
mended little  mortifications  of  the  senses  and  of  the  will 
to  be  practised  daily,  as  being  much  more  important  than 
scourgings  of  the  body  and  sweet  affections  of  devotion. 
She  did  not  want  a  sensational  piety,  but  a  manly  virtue, 
built  on  the  denial  of  self-will.  The  predominant  passion 
must  be  fought  out  unto  life  and  death ;  the  heart  must 
be  emptied  of  created  things  and  consecrated  without  re- 
serve to  God,  otherwise  a  religious  could  not  live  contented 
and  die  in  peace.  She  frequently  uttered  the  maxim 
which  is  so  worthy  of  consideration,  that  many  religious 
persons  would  attain  to  the  highest  perfection  if  they 
would  only  deny  themselves  and  correspond  to  divine  in- 
spiration; but  this  perfection  they  would  never  attain  if  they 
foolishly  retained  a  small  particle  of  their  hearts  for  them- 

1  Summ.  X.  10  §  191. 


276        The  Life  of  l\~n.  Mary  Crescentia. 

selves.  The  first  principle  which  she  inculcated  on  her  nov- 
ices was  the  old  adage,  Vince  teipsum,  "  Conquer  thyself." 

The  holy  veneration  which  the  novices  entertained  for 
their  mistress  had  a  still  deeper  foundation.  They  soon 
remarked  that  they  were  fsice  to  face  with  a  great  spiritual 
power,  the  depth  of  which  they  rather  imagined  than 
comprehended,  and  that  their  most  secret  thoughts  were 
frequently  discovered  by  that  penetrating  eye  which  was 
enlightened  from  above.  The  servant  of  God  looked 
through  the  deepest  recesses  of  hearts,  not  only  in  virtue 
of  a  natural  knowledge  of  mankind,  but  by  the  power  of 
a  higher  light.  This  is  proved  by  many  examples  :  Sis- 
ter M.  Joseph  Anger1  says :  "I  have  myself  experienced 
that  Crescentia  understood  the  secrets  of  my  heart  by  a  pene- 
trating glance.  Sometimes  she  told  me  of  things  which 
nobody  but  God  could  know  ;  I  have  also  heard  from  my 
fellow-Sisters  that  Crescentia  had  seen  through  and  through 
the  thoughts  of  their  hearts."  The  same  Sister  mentions,* 
among  other  incidents,  that  at  a  retreat  she  had  been 
troubled  by  a  doubt.  Crescentia  came  to  her  suddenly, 
told  her  of  the  doubt  concerning  which  she,  in  a  natural 
way,  could  have  known  nothing,  and  solved  it  for  her. 
The  following  Sisters,  Gabriel  Merz,  Benedicta  Gast,  and 
Barbara  Kiening,  say  *  that  Crescentia  had  told  them  of 
their  secret  sins,  and  exhorted  them  to  confess  them. 

We  have  already  related  that  this  mysterious  insight 
into  hearts  revealed  themselves  more  especially  after  her 
ecstasies.  Sister  M.  Kaphael  proves  this  by  the  following 
statement : 4  "  When  as  Mistress  of  Novices  she  gave 
her  spiritual  instructions,  she  frequently  fell  into  an  ec- 
stasy :  her  face  became,  now  pale  as  death,  now  glowing 
with  red.  She  would  remain  silent  in  this  state  about  half 
or  quarter  of  an  hour.  We  novices  were  struck  with  awe, 
and  not  without  reason  were  we  frightened,  for  after  these 
spiritual  conferences  she  whispered  first  to  one  and  then  to 
another  something  which  was  not  known  to  any  one  ;  or  in 

1  Summ.  N.  11  §  227.        *  Ibid.  N.  21  8  165.         3  Ibid.  N-  33.        *  Ibid.  S  SB. 


Crescentia  as  Mistress  of  Novices.          277 

her  discourse  she  expressed  herself  so  plainly  that  those 
who  were  hit  knew  plainly  that  their  mistress  had  been 
reading  their  faults  and  temptations  in  their  very  hearts." 
We  have  already  spoken  much  of  her  enlightened  ad- 
dresses and  instructions  ;  we  will  now  add  the  report  of 
Sister  M.  Gabriel : 1  "In  the  spiritual  instructions  she 
gave  us,  she  spoke  for  two  hours,  sometimes  for  three  or 

f  even  more,  about  God  or  things  referring  to  Him  ;  about 
the  practice  of  virtue  and  perfection,  with  such  wisdom 

'and  unction  of  spirit  that  we  all  perceived  it  was  the 
Holy  Ghost  who  directed  her  tongue.  She  then  displayed 
an  astonishing  ability,  meekness,  and  patience  ;  she  spared 
no  pains  to  lead  us  to  a  strict  observance  of  the  Rule  and 
regulations  of  the  Order  ;  and  although  she  was  sometimes 
so  Weak  that  she  could  scarcely  speak,  she  never  omitted 
her  instructions  to  us Full  of  astonishment,  we  of- 
ten said  :  Crescentia  does  not  speak  as  a  mortal ;  the  Holy 
Ghost  speaks  by  her  mouth.  Beforehand,  on  her  knees, 
she  fervently  invoked  the  Holy  Ghost  in  these  words  : 
'  Speak  Thou,  0  Lord,  for  Thy  servants  hear,  and  let  all 
the  words  which  Thy  poor  creature  Crescentia  pronounces, 
become  fiery  coals  to  set  the  hearts  of  my  dear  Sisters  on  fire 
with  Thy  love,  that  they  may  know,  seek,  and  love  nothing 
but  Thee,  the  Sovereign  Good! '  She  then  said:  '  Our  help 
is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  who  has  made  Heaven  and 
earth/  After  which  she  began  her  discourse,  and  in  all 
truth  I  can  bear  witness,  that  after  every  lesson  in  this  school, 
it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  endowed  with  new  life. " 

She  strenuously  inculcated  the  necessity  and  the  manner 
of  meditating  on  the  Passion  of  Christ,  on  the  complete 
surrender  of  one's  self  to  God,  on  the  poverty  of  spirit, 
together  with  that  of  the  religious  state,  and  on  the  obedi- 
ence of  faith.  This  latter  point  she  specially  recom- 
mended and  watched  her  pupils  very  closely  in  regard  to 
it ;  for  instance,  as  to  whether  they  rose  in  the  morning  at 
the  first  signal  given  for  rising,  that  they  might  begin  the 

1  Gabriel,  p.  124. 


278        The  Life  of  yen.  Mary  Crescentia. 

day  in  holy  obedience.  In  reference  to  this  virtue,  Sister 
M.  Raphael  Miller  relates  that  during  the  novitiate  she  had 
been  very  much  troubled  at  night  with  timidity;  then 
Crescentia  had  said  to  her  that  whenever  obedience  was 
concerned  she  must  lay  fear  aside,  and  think  that  even  if 
the  devil  himself  should  appear  to  her  to  turn  her  away 
from  the  path  of  obedience,  she  would  pass  by  him  undis- 
mayed, since  he  neither  could  nor  would  injure  her. 
From  that  time  every  fear  had  been  taken  from  her. 

For  the  edification  of  the  reader,  we  will  here  adduce 
some  of  the  maxims  Crescentia  strenuously  laid  before  her 
novices  :  "To  love  is  better  than  to  talk." — "  The  works 
which  are  not  seen  by  anyone,  are  the  ones  which  we  must 
perform  with  particular  fervor,  diligence,  and  love." — "If 
any  work  in  itself  seems  trivial  and  menial,  it  is  not  so  be- 
fore the  all-seeing  eye  of  God,  provided  such  work  is  per- 
formed with  a  good  intention  ;  it  then  becomes  great." — 
"  Walk  in  the  presence  of  God,  because  God  sees  all,  God 
hears  all,  God  knows  all,  God  punishes  or  rewards  all." 

The  two  rules  which  she  acted  upon  in  receiving  and 
training  novices,  deserve  every  consideration  ;  they  are  : 
"  In  selecting  and  receiving  novices,  no  regard  must  be 
had  to  the  riches  of  the  world,  but  to  the  riches  of  vir- 
tue."— "  Every  novice  must  be  treated  and  trained  accord- 
ing to  her  peculiar  qualifications,  passions,  needs,  and  di- 
vine indications.  It  is  ridiculous  to  endeavor  to  lead  all 
by  the  same  road."  Principles  so  enlightened,  so  holy  an 
example,  and  so  many  prayers  could  not  fail  to  yield  fruit 
a  hundred-fold  ;  in  fact,  she  trained  good  and  holy  Sisters, 
the  odor  of  whose  virtues  spread  far  and  wide. 

Oh,  that  all  those  to  whom  the  education  of  youth  is 
intrusted  resembled  her  a  little  !  it  would  then  certainly 
stand  better  with  the  family,  the  state,  and  the  Church  ; 
then  in  their  regard  the  beautiful  promise  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture would  be  fulfilled  :  "  But  they  that  are  learned  shall 
shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament  ;  and  they  that 
instruct  many  to  justice,  as  stars  to  all  eternity."  ' 

1  Dan.  xii.  3. 


CHAPTER  II. 
Crescentia  as  Mother  Superior. 

|HE  Mother  Superior,  Sister  M.  Johanna  Altwe- 
ger,  who  was  universally  revered,  died  June 
20th,  1741.  On  the  23d  of  the  following 
month,  the  Sisters  unanimously  elected  Sister  M.  Cres- 
centia as  their  Superioress,  the  Father  Provincial,  Bon- 
iface Schmidt,  presiding.  The  humble  servant  of  God  was 
almost  beside  herself  with  fright,  a  flood  of  tears  streamed 
from  her  eyes,  she  could  not  utter  a  word,  and  she  came  so 
near  fainting  that  she  had  to  be  supported  by  two  other 
Sisters  and  conducted  to  the  place,  where,  according 
to  custom,  she  had  to  kneel  down.  She  now  refused 
to  accept  the  office  in  these  words  :  "  My  dear  Sisters,  you 
have  elected  the  most  wretched  of  all  in  electing  me ;  I 
know  nothing  and  understand  nothing.  I  am  a  poor  weav- 
er's daughter  and  quite  ignorant ;  there  is  nothing  good 
about  me,  and  as  I  cannot  govern  myself,  how  much  less 
can  I  govern  others  ! "  But  the  presiding  Provincial  here  in- 
terfered and  commanded  her  under  obedience  to  accept  the 
office.  Now,  as  ever,  the  word  "  obedience  "  had  a  wonder- 
ful effect  :  her  tears  ceased,  her  face  assumed  jts  usual  seren- 
ity, and,  with  entire  submission,  she  accepted  the  office  from 
the  hands  of  God,  as  a  cross,  but  as  a  good  cross.  But,  in 
order  not  to  lose  the  merit  of  obedience,  she,  on  her  knees, 
begged  the  Father  Provincial  to  appoint  one  of  the  Sisters 
to  be  her  personal  Superior,  who  should  direct  her  in  ev- 
erything concerning  herself  individually.  For  this  pur- 
pose he  appointed  the  then  Sister-assistant,  M.  Anna  Neth. 
Crescentia  accepted  this  appointment  with  gratitude  and 
pleasure,  and.  as  we  have  already  related,  practised  obedience 
so  fully  and  perfectly  in  all  points  until  the  day  of  her 
death,  that  none  of  her  inferiors  could  equal  her. 
She  governed  the  community  for  almost  three  years, 


280     The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

with  such  prudence,  firmness,  love,  and  humility,  that  she 
drew  forth  universal  approbation,  nay,  even  admiration, 
and  this  not  only  in  the  community,  but  from  those  out- 
side. She  who  had  been  so  often  compelled  to  hear  that 
she  had  been  received  for  mercy's  sake  and  was  but  a  bur- 
den on  the  community,  and  who,  considering  this  to  be 
actually  the  case,  had  always  taken  the  last  place,  now, 
as  "  second  foundress,"  raised  the  convent  to  its  greatest 
splendor,  temporally  and  spiritually.  She  introduced  a 
stricter  discipline,  a  greater  seclusion  and  recollection  ;  and 
fostered  such  love  and  unity  among  the  Sisterhood  that  the 
convent  really  became  what  a  convent  ought  to  be — a 
peaceable  little  kingdom  of  love  amid  the  noise  and  din  of 
the  world's  selfishness.  Her  maxims,  ordinances,  and  reg- 
ulations proved  so  beneficial,  that  after  her  death  her  suc- 
cessors adopted  them  as  a  Rule,  and  retained  them  with  the 
greatest  advantage  to  the  community. 

A  Superior  in  religion  must  possess,  as  St.  Bonaventure 
teaches,  in  a  renowned  little  work  entitled  "  De  sex  alls 
Seraphim — six  wings  of  Seraphim — to  wit  :  zeal  for  justice; 
compassionate  love  for  the  sick  and  feeble  ;  immovable  pa- 
tience under  cares,  contradictions,  and  labors  ;  an  exempla- 
ry life  ;  prudence,  and  the  gift  of  discerning  spirits  :  and 
lastly,  affectionate  piety  and  devotion."  All  these  virtues 
Crescentia  had  practised  long  since,  but  now  that  she  was 
as  a  light  put  on  a  candlestick,  the  fulness  with  which  she 
possessed  them  was  revealed  to  every  eye  and  in  a  new 
manner.  This  we  will  elucidate  with  a  special  reference 
to  justice,  kindness,  and  discernment  of  spirit. 

In  regard  to  justice,'  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention 
that  she  exercised  the  ordinary  Rule,  in  temporal  matters, 
of  giving  to  every  man  his  own  with  strict  conscientiousness  ; 
this  principle  being  the  fundamental  basis  of  social  life. 
She  watched  carefully  and  with  some  anxiety  to  see  that  the 
wages  due  to  the  workmen  and  servants  were  paid  in  full 
and  at  the  proper  time,  and  that  they  were  rather  plenti- 

'  Summ.  N.  13,  §  1-391. 


Crescentia  as  Motker  Superior.  281 

fully  than  sparingly  supplied  with  food  and  drink.  She 
insisted  that  the  Sister-procuratrix  should  pay  at  once  for 
the  things  bought,  she  examined  the  account  books  closely 
herself,  and  laid  them  before  the  Sister  assistant  and  the  two 
Sisters  of  the  council  four  times  a  year  (at  Ember  times), 
and  before  the  Father  Provincial  at  the  Visitation,  request- 
ing that  they  should  be  carefully  examined.  She  never 
made  a  promise  without  keeping  it,  neither  did  she  post- 
pone its  execution  any  longer  than  was  necessary.  Her 
heart  and  her  tongue  were  always  perfectly  agreed  ;  she  nev- 
er permitted  herself  or  any  of  her  inferiors  to  use  an  am- 
biguous word,  any  outwitting  or  crooked  ways,  not  the 
least  untruth,  were  it  only  in  joke.  In  dove-like  simplicity 
she  always  looked  up  to  the  divine  will,  from  which  alone 
she  accepted  every  good,  and  endeavored,  by  faith,  to  per- 
severe in  the  order  of  Providence,  to  work  and  to  suffer 
just  as  God  might  desire  and  demand  it,  hour  by  hour. 
Beyond  this,  she  wanted  nothing ;  nothing  to  conceal, 
nothing  to  reveal,  nothing  to  gain,  nothing  to  lose  ;  she 
desired  no  means,  she  had  no  object  in  view,  otherwise 
than  as  God  appointed  them. 

She  hated  detraction  above  all  things,  and  was  horrified 
when  a  shadow  of  anything  that  seemed  like  it  was  spoken 
in  her  presence.  She  then  reproved  the  evil  speakers  with 
great  energy.  Careless  of  her  own  reputation,  she  was  ever 
on  the  watch  for  the  honor  of  others,  always  taking  the 
part  of  the  accused.  In  the  distribution  of  offices  and  of 
work  she  acted  with  great  circumspection,  impartiality,  and 
justice.  She  took  into  consideration  the  ability,  character, 
and  merits  of  each  Sister,  and  knew  how  so  to  appoint  the 
task  for  each  that  no  one  should  be  overburdened  to  the 
detriment  of  soul  and  body;  when  circumstances  increased 
the  work,  she  provided  assistance  in  due  time.  Hereby 
she  rendered  all  of  them  not  only  contented,  but  extremely 
happy. 

A  just  soul  is  also  a  thankful  one.  She  was  always  in  a 
high  degree  grateful  to  all  who  ronferred  favors  on  her- 


282        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent  ia. 

self  or  ou  the  community,  and  was  always  afraid  that  she  had 
not  offered  up  to  God  enough  prayers  and  works  of  pen- 
ance for  them.  For  the  slightest  service,  as,  for  instance, 
when  the  door  was  opened  for  her  as  Superioress,  she  re- 
turned thanks.  She  never  demanded  anything  for  herself 
as  a  right,  but  asked  for  it  in  humble  words,  as  for  an  un- 
deserved favor.  In  her  love  for  justice  she  often  exhorted 
the  great  personages  of  this  world  and  those  in  office  with 
whom  she  became  acquainted,  not  merely  to  avoid  the  un- 
just oppression  of  the  poor  themselves,  but  to  watch  that 
in  their  administration  no  subaltern  should  commit  any  in- 
justice, also  that  widows  and  orphans  should  be  protected. 
Even  retributive  justice  seemed  to  her  so  deserving  of  re- 
spect, that  she  praised  the  government  which  enforced  it, 
although  she  felt  a  heartfelt  compassion  for  the  culprit. 
Sometimes  she  would  say:  "  If  any  one  of  my  dearest  friends 
or  relatives  were  put  to  death  for  wickedness,  I  would  not 
intercede  for  him,  even  were  I  certain  of  obtaining  his  par- 
don. I  would  rather  kiss  the  avenging  hand  of  God." 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  that  she  worked  zeal- 
ously for  the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  for 
the  extirpation  of  vice.  Let  us  hear  what  Sister  M.  Miche- 
lina  Weis  says  about  this: '  "  Mild,  meek,  and  yielding  as 
Crescentia  was,  when  Superioress,  she  never  neglected 
to  remind  such  Sisters  as  were  remiss  of  their  duty,  and 
also  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  to  inflict  such  punishment 
as  had  been  deserved,  particularly  if  they  had  failed  in  ob- 
serving the  commandments  of  God,  or  in  the  perfection 
required  by  their  state  of  life.  In  such  cases  she  labored 
with  an  overwhelming  force  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  souls,  and  soon  effected  a  change  for  the  bet- 
ter." Sister  M.  Raphael  says:  "  A  single  glance  from  her, 
without  a  word,  was  of  such  efficacy  that  we  at  once  recog- 
nized our  faults  and  were  sorry  for  them." 

In  correcting,  however,  she  acted  with  great  prudence 
and  often  after  long  deliberation.  In  doubtful  cases  or 

>  Sumin.  N.  12  §  133. 


Crescentia  as  Mother  Superior.          283 

when  opinions  differed,  she  first  had  recourse  to  God  in 
prayer,  and  never  spoiled  anything  by  precipitation.  She 
was  of  opinion  that  in  the  first  excitement  we  often  say 
that  for  which  we  are  afterwards  sorry,  and  that  when  ac- 
cusations are  made,  delay  in  postponing  the  sentence  often 
brings  the  truth  to  light  and  then  reconciliation  follows  as 
a  matter  of  course;  therefore,  when  a  complaint  against  any 
one  was  brought  to  her,  she  would  not  believe  the  accusa- 
tion at  first  without  further  evidence,  but  she  prayed  and 
inquired  closely  into  the  case;  she  then  considered  what 
might  be  the  best  mode  of  correcting  the  delinquent. 
She  never  corrected  important  faults  immediately ;  if 
she  had  to  reprimand  she  prayed  to  God  so  to  direct  her 
tongue  that  she  should  use  the  requisite  moderation;  she 
then  reproved  with  so  much  humility,  mildness,  and  firm- 
ness that  success  was  insured.  She  never  again  mentioned 
the  faults  that  had  been  amended. 

The  old  rule  of  prudence,  "  do  nothing  without  counsel," 
was  sacred  in  her  eyes.  By  consulting  with  the  older  and 
more  experienced  Sisters,  she  sought,  on  the  one  hand,  to 
obtain  greater  security  against  blunders,  on  the  other,  to 
gain  a  higher  authority  for  what  was  decided.  She  con- 
vened this  council  more  particularly  for  the  regulation  of 
temporal  affairs,  for  which  she  deemed  herself  utterly  unfit. 
The  execution  of  details  she  also  left,  as  far  as  possible,  to 
such  Sisters  as  were  adapted  for  it. 

The  manner  in  which  she  held  the  customary  chapter  of 
faults  is  admirable.  Sister  M.  Gabriel  says: '  "  When,  as 
Mother  Superior,  she  held  the  chapter,  it  should  rather 
have  been  termed  a  school  of  virtue  than  a  chapter  (of 
faults).  She  encouraged  and  consoled  the  failing  and  ne- 
glectful with  maternal  tenderness  and  gave  to  each  and  all 
the  most  wholesome  advice  to  serve  God  with  zeal  and  fer- 
vor, to  keep  their  holy  rules  and  vows  with  great  exactness, 
to  practise  virtue,  and  every  day  to  strive  after  greater  per- 
fection. In  the  chapter  itself  she  was  the  most  humble  of 

1  Gabriel,  p.  269. 


284      The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

all,  publicly  confessed  her  shortcomings,  on  her  knees  be- 
fore all  the  Sisters,  and  humbly  asked  us  for  pardon,  for 
God's  sake,  for  the  many  faults  and  omissions  of  which 
she  had  been  guilty  and  the  bad  example  she  had  given. 
This  on  her  part  was  a  sheer  act  of  humility  and  of  self- 
annihilation,  for  to  us  she  had  always  been  a  model  and 
mirror  of  every  virtue.  When  she  had  held  the  chapter, 
she  knelt  down  again  and  humbly  asked  pardon  for  having 
admonished  and  corrected  us  for  our  faults,  adding:  '  My 
dear  Sisters  !  I  am  ashamed  from  my  very  heart  that  I  have 
to  admonish  you  for  your  failings,  knowing,  as  I  do,  that  I 
myself  have  the  most  and  the  greatest,  and  that  I  do  not 
in  the  least  do  as  I  say:  but  I  beg  of  you,  follow  not  my 
deeds  but  my  words;  God  will  assuredly  not  allow  these 
words  to  err  in  her  whom  He  has  ordained  to  fill  His 
place.  The  all-seeing  God,  who  provides  everythi  ng,  knows 
why  He  selected  me,  the  most  unfit,  to  this  obedience.  I 
know  nothing,  understand  nothing,  and  how  can  I  govern 
you  who  cannot  direct  myself  ?  But  I  hope  and  trust  in  my 
dear  God,  that  He  may  deign  to  direct  me,  a  mere  straw,  ac- 
cording to  His  divine  will,  to  His  greater  honor,  and  to  your 
welfare  and  salvation  ;  for  the  meaner  the  creature  is,  the 
greater  and  the  more  conspicuous  will  be  the  power,  wisdom, 
and  goodness  He  displays  through  its  instrumentality.' ' 

Such  humility  and  love  could  give  rise  to  no  dubious 
thoughts,  as  if  her  judgment  was  partial,  and  even  the  least 
humble  were  compelled  to  acknowledge  their  faults,  when 
they  saw  their  holy  Superioress  proclaiming  herself  a  trans- 
gressor, nay,  the  greatest  transgressor  of  them  all.  More 
than  this,  they  were  convinced  that  Crescentia  really  loved 
them  all,  so  that  she  would  have  given  her  life  for  each  one 
of  them.  They  saw  how,  without  being  asked,  she  was 
careful  to  provide  for  their  individual  needs,  bodily  and 
spiritual,  and  that  she  thought  of  everything,  and  seemed 
forgetful  of  herself  alone. 

Sister  M.   Joseph  Anger   testifies:1    "When    she  was 

>  Summ.  N.  10  8  383. 


Crescentia  as  Mother  Superior.  285 

Mother  Superior,  every  Sister  had  at  all  times  free  access  to 
her,  to  reveal  to  her  any  doubts,  temptations,  and  needs 
with  which  she  might  be  troubled.  She  listened  to  every  one 
with  more  than  a  mother's  love  and  condescension,  and 
every  one  left  her  presence  consoled  by  her,  and  feeling 
fervor  and  desire  for  religious  perfection  renewed.  We 
frequently  said  amongst  ourselves  :  Whenever  Crescentia 
speaks  to  us  we  get  a  new  life;  all  her  words  are  spirit  and 
life.  She  often  said  to  us  :  '  Oh,  how  gladly  would  I  sac- 
rifice my  honor,  my  life,  and  everything,  if  I  could  only 
carry  you  up  in  my  hands  to  Heaven  !'  In  fact,  she  spared 
herself  no  pains,  neglected  no  effort  to  lead  us,  by  word  and 
example,  to  virtue  and  perfection." 

She  was  exceedingly  careful  in  receiving  candidates  for 
the  religious  state.  She  said  :  "  Decision  on  this  subject  is 
very  important ;  God's  honor  and  that  of  the  community 
depend  on  it."  Even  on  her  death-bed  she  gave  exhorta- 
tions to  proceed  in  this  mutter  with  great  consideration 
and  without  over-haste.  She  herself  only  received  two 
novices,  namely,  Sister  Raphael  Miller  (who  from  1769-1799 
was  Superioress  of  the  convent)  and  Sister  M.  Helena  Kiirz, 
who  died  Nov.  G,  1800.  Every  consideration  of  riches 
and  of  influential  recommendations  she  desired  should  be 
excluded  at  their  reception.  She  said:  "It  is  God's  will 
that  the  community  should  be  rich,  not  in  worldly  goods, 
but  in  virtues."  She  manifested  these  principles  in  a  par- 
ticular manner  in  a  case  where  the  Father  Provincial  had 
warmly  recommended  a  very  wealthy  postulant  of  noble 
family  and  when  the  other  Sisters  had  already  been  in- 
fluenced to  give  their  consent.  For  obvious  reasons  she 
did  not  make  many  objections,  but  simply  said,  on  seeing 
the  postulant :  "  This  one  is  not  for  us."  In  reality, 
she  soon  returned  home  of  her  own  accord,  and  the  Sister 
who  relates  the  incident  adds  :  "  We  were  all,  the  postu- 
lant included,  very  glad  at  the  event." 

She  gave  a  special  caution  against  receiving  persons  of  a 
melancholy  disposition  or  of  weak  intellect ;  even  if  they 


286        The  Life  of  Ven    Mary  Crescentia. 

had  mountains  of  gold,  she  said,  they  should  not  be  re- 
ceived, seeing  that  they  were  little  capable  of  advanc- 
ing towards  perfection  themselves  and  were  only  an  ob- 
stacle to  others.  She  kept  the  novices  under  strict  dis- 
cipline during  their  novitiate,  and  urged  their  mistress, 
Sister  M.  Anna  Xeth,  to  neglect  nothing  in  watching  and 
educating  them.  In  regard  to  the  other  Sisters  she  was 
particularly  watchful  over  their  intercourse  with  the  outer 
world.  By  her  prudence  she  was  successful  in  removing 
some  inconveniences  which  had  arisen  from  the  frequent 
visits  of  ecclesiastics  and  seculars.  She  had  strict  maxims  on 
these  subjects  and  often  said  that  Sisters  of  a  religious  com- 
munity incur  no  greater  dangers  than  those  which  arise  from 
a  too  frequent  and  intimate  intercourse  with  their  relatives 
and  other  outsiders,  even  were  such  belonging  to  the  eccle- 
siastical state.  Though  the  beginning  might  be  good,  it 
would  often  lead  to  no  good  end  ;  at  the  least  it  disturbed 
recollection,  distracted  the  mind,  and  easily  turned  the 
heart  away  from  God  and  towards  creatures.  While,  on 
the  other  hand,  recollection  and  silence  nourish  good 
thoughts,  holy  intentions,  and  mutual  love. 

Neither  would  she  permit  the  common  gossip  of  the  city 
to  be  brought  into  the  convent.  "  Let  the  dead  bury  the 
dead,"  she  would  say  on  these  occasions  ;  "but  we  must 
imitate  Christ;  that  alone  is  our  vocation."  When  they 
were  at  work  at  times  when  silence  was  not  to  be  observed, 
and  the  Sisters  had  strayed  off  in  vain  talk,  she  at  once 
turned  the  conversation,  and  sometimes,  too,  would  find 
fault,  saying  :  "  Seek  and  love  God,  who  is  present,  and 
speak  of  Him  ;  for  love  is  better  than  speech.  Whoever 
would  strive  after  God,  as  in  duty  bound  to  do,  must  begin 
with  silence  and  interior  recollection.  Sin  is  never  absent 
where  there  is  much  talk  ;  even  if  the  conversation  begins 
with  God,  it  easily  runs  off  into  worldly  gossip.  It  is  then 
better  to  keep  silence  and  to  love,  in  order  that  Jesus  may 
be  incur  midst  when  we  are  at  work." 

After  the  exampleof  holy  Father  Francis,  she  hated  idle- 


Crescent  ia  as  Mother  Superior.          287 

ness  very  much  and  attacked  it  on  all  occasions.  She  said  : 
' '  It  gives  an  easy  entrance  to  the  devil  and  brings  him  much 
profit ;  yet  we  ought  not  to  work  as  eye-servants  of  men 
for  men,  but  as  servants  of  Christ  for  God."  She  herself 
was  the  very  first  at  menial  works,  and  often  secretly  per- 
formed such  as  there  were  to  do,  so  that  the  Sisters  who 
had  them  in  charge  found  them  already  completed.  She 
was  never  absent  from  any  exercise  of  the  community 
unless  confined  to  bed  by  sickness,  and  she  exacted  this 
punctuality  from  the  others.  We  have  already  related  that 
she  did  not  fail  to  be  present  at  the  recreations,  where  she 
cheered  as  well  as  edified  the  Sisters.  She  made,  as  an 
eye-witness  asserts,  the  recreation  not  merely  physically 
recuperative,  but  truly  a  spiritual  one.  She  was  very  glad 
to  see  the  Sisters  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  "  Be  glad,"  she 
said;  "  to  one  who  seeks  and  loves  nothing  but  God,  cheer- 
fulness becomes  a  second  nature.  The  Lord  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver  and  servant ;  those  who  are  melancholy 
and  sad  in  this  service  displease  Him  ;  they  fish  in  the 
mud  of  their  own  perversity."  All  affectation  of  singularity 
in  conduct  displeased  her  sorely  ;  it  did  not  come  from  God, 
she  thought,  and  only  tended  to  sow  the  seed  of  disunion. 
It  was  no  wonder  that  a  Superioress  who  lived  entirely 
by  truth  and  love  should  fascinate  all  hearts,  and,  be- 
coming herself  the_central  point,  should  be  able  to  unite  the 
Avhole  community  in  peace  and  harmony  and  raise  it  up  to 
God  Himself.  What  is  most  to  be  admired  in  her  is,  per- 
haps, her  interior  recollection,  which  Avas  so  powerfully  ef- 
fective that  no  outward  affairs,  cares,  or  conversations  could 
interrupt  or  disturb  her  interior  intercourse  with  God. 
Neither  did  she  ever  omit  her  usual  prayers  and  exercises  ; 
only  very  extraordinary  causes  could  induce  her  to  be  ab- 
sent from  the  common  exercises.  No  occurrence,  no 
difficulty,  no  loss  could  disturb  her  peace  for  a  moment; 
she  lived  altogether  by  that  truth  spoken  by  the  Redeemer: 
"  Seek  ye  therefore  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  His  jus- 
tice, and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 


288        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Creseentia. 

We  must  speak  of  the  serious  sickness  which  befell  her 
in  the  first  year  of  her  office. '  She  suffered  for  a  quarter 
of  a  year  with  dropsy,  and  everybody,  including  the  two 
doctors  who  attended  her,  thought  she  would  soon  die. 
The  swelling  increased  to  such  a  size  that  she  could  not  lie 
down,  and  sitting  up  became  also  difficult.  All  at  once  a 
change  took  place  in  her  sickness,  and  in  a  short  time  she 
became  quite  well,  to  every  one's  surprise.  When  the  Sisters 
questioned  her  about  it,  she  replied  that  St.  Anthony, 
her  patron,  had  appeared  to  her,  and  announced  to  her 
that  she  would  not  die  of  this  disease.  Then  the  sick- 
ness had  disappeared. 

Crescentia  affords  us  a  new  example  that  God  exalts  the 
humble  and  makes  them  His  instruments.  It  is  peculiar 
to  God  to  work  great  things  in  nothing,  and  by  nothing  ; 
and  "  the  base  things  of  the  world  and  the  things  that 
are  contemptible  hath  God  chosen,  and  things  that  are  not, 
that  He  might  bring  to  naught  things  that  are  ;  that  no 
flesh  should  glory  in  His  sight."*  Whosoever  is  called  by 
God  to  be  His  representative  and  tool  in  directing  others, 
should  never  forget  this  sublime  truth.  But,  alas !  too 
easily  does  man  interiorly  exalt  his  person,  when  he  is 
exteriorly  elevated  to  dignities  ;  whereby  he  sinks  before 
God  in  the  same  degree  that  he  rises  before  men.  In  this 
regard,  the  Wise  Man  says  :  "  Have  they  made  thee  rul- 
er ?  be  not  lifted  up  ;  be  among  them  as  one  of  them."3 

1  Act.  B.  Summ.  Obi-  N.  11  6  8.          *  I.  Cor.  1.  88,  89.         >  Eccl.  uzll.  1. 


CHAPTER  III. 

How  Much  and  how  Successfully  Crescentia  La- 
bored in  and  outside  of  the  Community. 

T  pleased  Almighty  God  to  place  the  light,  which 
He  Himself  had  lit,  and  had  kept  for  so  many 
years  under  the  bushel  of  contempt,  in  a  candle- 
stick, that  it  might  henceforth  give  light  to  the  House  of 
God  far  and  wide.  ' '  And  the  weak  things  of  the  world 
hath  God  chosen,  that  He  may  confound  the  strong." 
For  this  reason  "  God  had,"  as  Sister  M.  Gabriel  says,3 
"endowed  His  servant  with  marvellous  wisdom  and  the 
gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Persons  of  high  rank  have  fre- 
quently acknowledged  that  they  had  received  salutary 
counsel  and  assistance  from  her  in  most  difficult  cases,  in 
which  the  ablest  and  most  learned  men  scarcely  ventured 
to  give  a  definite  decision.  She  possessed  a  wonderful  abil- 
ity for  any  business  and  could  accommodate  herself  to  all 
circumstances  and  all  characters." 

The  fame  of  her  sanctity  and  wisdom  spread,  not  only 
over  the  whole  diocese  of  Augsburg,  but  over  all  Germany, 
and  even  beyond  it.  Attracted  by  this  renown  and  led  to 
her  by  God,  persons  from  the  highest  classes  of  society,  or 
such  as  were  prominent  for  knowledge  and  sanctity,  came 
to  the  poor  convent,  to  seek  comfort  in  affliction,  counsel 
in  intricate  matters  of  business  or  in  spiritual  affairs,  or 
edification  and  the  assistance  of  her  prayers.  Others  cor- 
responded with  her  by  letter  for  the  same  purposes. 
Among  those  who  visited  her  personally,  we  must  name,  in 
the  first  place,  Amalia,  wife  of  the  Prince-elector  of  Bavaria, 
who,  later,  was  by  one  section  of  Germany  acknowledged 
as  emperor,  under  the  name  of  Charles  VII.  This  noble 
lady  came  three  times  to  Kaufbeuren,  and,  to  her  great  ed- 
ification and  consolation,  remained  alone  with  Crescentia 

1  I.  Cor.  i.  27.  •>  Gabriel,  p.  133. 


2go        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

for  many  hours.  Then  we  must  prominently  mention  the 
two  brothers  of  Charles  VII.,  Cardinal  Theodore,  and 
Clement  Augustus,  Elector  of  Cologne. 

Concerning  the  visit  of  the  latter,  the  following  notice  is 
found  : '  Some  years  before  his  death,  Clement  Augustus, 
when  on  a  tour  through  Suabia,  visited  Mary  Crescentia,  of 
the  Franciscan  Order,  who  was  living  in  the  reputation  of 
sanctity  and  was  said  to  be  favored  with  the  gift  of  proph- 
ecy ;  being  in  a  cheerful  mood,  he  requested  her  to  tell 
him  somewhat  of  his  life  to  come.  The  good  religious 
hesitated  at  first  to  comply  with  his  wishes,  but  finally  ac- 
ceded to  his  oft-repeated,  earnest  request.  She  foretold  to 
the  prince  that  though  he  had  indeed  built  many  castles, 
he  would  die  in  none  of  them.  And  so  it  happened. 
Clement  Augustus  fell  sick  when  on  a  journey  to  Munich, 
in  the  Chur-Treves  castle  at  Ehrenbreitstein,  and  died  there 
the  day  after  his  arrival,  February  6th,  A.  D.  1761,  at  5  P. 
M.  The  remark  is  added  that  the  prince  kept  a  picture 
of  Ven.  Crescentia  in  his  sleeping  apartments  at  Bonn. 

Moreover,  Leopold  of  Firmian,  Archbishop  of  Salzburg, 
visited  her,  also  the  Cardinal  and  Prince-bishop  of  Con- 
stance, Von  Roth,  who  had  an  extraordinary  veneration 
for  her,  and  had  already  visited  her  when  Dean  of  the 
Cathedral  of  Augsburg,  as  well  as  afterwards  ;  he  often  re- 
mained in  holy  conversation  with  her  for  hours.  The  bishop 
of  Constance  and  Augsburg,  John  Francis  of  Schauffen- 
berg,and  his  successor,  Joseph  of  Hesse-Darmstadt, visited 
her  twice.  Anselm,  the  Prince-abbot  of  Kempten  ;  the 
Prince  of  Sigmaringen,  the  Grand-master  of  Waldburg- 
Scheer,  and  the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  nee  Princess  Lichten- 
stein,  who  was  more  devoted  to  her  than  any  one,  also  visited 
her.  The  Imperial  General,  Count  Collovrath,  came  all  the 
way  from  Moravia  to  speak  to  her,  and  when  he  left  could 
not  find  words  sufficient  to  express  his  admiration  of  her. 
Not  to  mention  the  many  other  counts,  barons,  abbots, 
provincials,  doctors  of  theology  and  others,  persons  re- 

1  Geschichte  der  Burgen,  etc.   History  of  Castles,  etc. 


How  Successfully  Crescentia  Labored.     291 

IIOM  net!  for  sanctity,  knowledge,  and  influence,  who  came, 
often  from  afar  off,  to  seek  from  the  poor  religions,  inex- 
perienced in  secular  knowledge,  but  wonderfully  enlight- 
ened in  the  school  of  Christ,  a  wisdom  that  human  enlight- 
enment and  power  cannot  give.  Their  expectations  were 
generally  raised  very  high,  and  yet  no  one,  as  far  as  is 
known,1  ever  left  her  without  being  satisfied;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  usually  acknowledged  that  their  expectations  had 
been  far  surpassed,  and  that  they  found  themselves  won- 
derfully consoled  and  enlightened,  and  knew  not  which  to 
admire  most,  her  modesty  and  humility,  or  her  wisdom  and 
enlightenment. 

As  may  be  supposed,  some  visitors  came  from  mere  curi- 
osity, or  even  with  an  evil  purpose  ;  some  to  get  material 
for  making  fun,  or  to  gather  facts  for  piquant  remarks. 
Such  as  these  were  not  a  little  disappointed.  She  then  as- 
sumed so  reserved  and  serious  an  attitude,  spoke  but  little, 
and  on  such  general  topics,  that  the  visit  soon  came  to  an 
end,  and  the  visitors  found  no  other  material  for  their  criti- 
cisms than  to  say  that  the  servant  of  God  was  an  ignorant 
and  stupid  woman.  Not  infrequently,  however,  these  visits 
had  quite  another  ending  :  several  parties,  after  a  brief  in- 
terview, went  away  ashamed  and  confused  ;  some  were  even 
honest  enough  to  confess  that  Crescentia  had  laid  open  to 
them  the  sad  state  of  their  conscience.  An  ecclesiastic  once 
came  with  the  sinister  intention  of  trapping  her  with  a  few 
critical  questions.2  Out  of  respect  for  the  priesthood  she  at 
first  replied  only  with  a  few  kind  and  reserved  words. 
When,  disappointed  in  his  object,  he  was  about  to  leave, 
she  told  him  that  he  would  do  better,  instead  of  squander- 
ing his  precious  time,  to  use  it  in  doing  penance  for  and 
amending  certain  sins,  which  she  distinctly  named  to 
him.  The  words  struck  him  like  lightning ;  he  went 
away  contrite,  amended  his  life,  and  told  several  persons 
that  Crescentia  had  told  him  of  sins  which  God  alone  could 
have  known. 

1  Summ.  N.  23  §  68.  "  Summ.  N.  31  §  27  and  83. 


292        The  Life  of  Ven,  Mary  Crescentia. 

Another  priest  came  to  hear  a  yet  more  earnest  truth. 
At  the  process  the  witnesses  relate  only  in  a  summary  way l 
what  Father  Ott  tells  as  follows  :  "  This  gentleman,  more 
given  to  playing  tricks  for  fun  than  is  exactly  becoming  to 
a  priest,  when  he  heard  that  the  Archbishop  of  Cologne 
was  about  to  visit  the  servant  of  Christ,  would  not  lose  a 
convenient  opportunity  for  playing  a  joke  on  Crescentia. 
Accompanied  by  several  persons,  he  announced  himself  as 
the  expected  prelate.  The  Superioress  and  the  Sisters  re- 
ceived him  in  all  honor,  as  became  a  person  in  so  exalted  a 
position.  The  pious  virgin  was  at  once  summoned,  but 
to  the  annoyance  and  alarm  of  the  other  Sisters  she  com- 
ported herself  in  a  very  reserved  and  chilling  manner 
towards  the  gentleman.  When  left  alone  with  him,  she 
told  him  something  that  had  hitherto  remained  a  secret, 
and  then  bade  him  prepare  for  death,  for  within  three 
months  he  would  die.  Thoroughly  staggered,  he  followed 
her  good  advice  ;  a  short  time  after  he  died. 

The  great  concourse  of  people  and  the  daily  disturbance 
it  involved  was  a  great  sacrifice  to  this  pious  virgin,  who 
cherished  so  extraordinary  a  love  for  a  hidden  and  secluded 
life;  so  great  indeed  was  the  sacrifice  that  only  her  love  for 
Christ  and  for  the  souls  redeemed  by  Him  could  render  it 
in  any  degree  bearable.  But  she  never  received  a  visit  or 
spoke  to  a  stranger  except  at  the  command  of  Mother 
Johanna,  or,  when  she  herself  was  Superior,  at  the  bidding 
of  the  Sister-assistant.  She  never  spoke  a  word  or  gave  a 
hint  of  what  passed  in  these  interviews  on  either  side  ;  we 
should  have  known  nothing  of  the  details  had  not  the 
visitors  themselves  praised  her  language  as  full  of  kindness, 
wisdom,  and  strength,  and  communicated  many  things  from 
which  we  may  conclude  that  God  had  granted  her  the  dis- 
cernment of  spirits,  and  a  frequent  insight  into  the  secrets 
of  conscience.  For  this  reason  her  words  often  struck  like 
lightning,  and  many  were  incited  to  do  penance,  either  for  a 
state  of  grievous  sin  covering  many  years,  or  for  a  state  of 

X.  '->!  I  153. 


How  Successfully  Crescent ia  Labored.      293 

dangerous  lukewarmness.  She  told  a  priest  who  visited 
her,  and  who  had  a  pack  of  cards  secreted  in  his  pocket, 
"  It  would  be  better  if  your  Reverence  had  the  Breviary 
with  you  instead  of  the  cards."  To  another  she  gave  the 
salutary  admonition  not  to  be  an  ecclesiastic  in  the  morn- 
ing only,  but  in  the  evening  also,  and  to  refrain  from  use- 
less conversation  and  company.  In  both  cases  the  repri- 
mands had  the  desired  effect.  Many  came  to  her  for  help 
and  advice  in  their  temporal  needs  and  sufferings.  Then 
it  became  manifest,  indeed,  that  she  had  an  extraordinary 
gift  of  consoling  the  sorrowing  and  afflicted,  of  exciting 
them  to  trust  in  God  and  to  resign  themselves  to  the  divine 
will.  In  fact,  those  seeking  her  help  were  very  often  really 
delivered  from  their  troubles,  as  shall  be  related  in  the  next 
chapter.  Nearly  every  one  who  visited  her  desired  to  have 
a  souvenir  of  her.  With  the  permission  of  the  Superioress 
she  therefore  distributed  articles  of  devotion  :  rosaries, 
scapulars,  crosses,  certain  instruments  of  the  passion,  and 
to  the  sick,  blessed  oil  and  similar  articles. 

Innumerable  examples  show  that  God  connected  many 
graces  and  even  wonderful  effects  with  a  believing  and  de- 
vout use  of  these  articles  ;  on  which  account,  and  as  it 
seems  not  without  some  fault  of  the  very  credulous  Sister 
M.  Anna  Neth,  a  false  report  had  got  abroad  that  these  ar- 
ticles had  been  blessed  and  indulgenced  by  Christ  Himself. 
"We  have  already  related  that  it  was  proved  by  a  strict, 
special  examination,  how  innocent  Crescentia  was  in  this 
respect,  and  how  careful  she  always  was  to  have  these 
articles  of  devotion  blessed  by  a  priest. 

The  correspondence  by  letter  which  she  had  to  carry  on 
with  many  persons  who  had  visited  her,  or  who  were  pre- 
vented from  doing  so,  assumed  in  the  latter  years  of  her 
life  such  large  dimensions  that  Sister  M.  Anna  was  kept  busy, 
the  whole  day  through,  in  answering  the  letters  received, 
and  another  Sister  often  had  to  help  her.  Many  thousands 
of  such  letters  containing  matters  of  conscience  she  burnt 
at  once  ;  yet  after  her  death  many  such  were  found,  as  is 


Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcsccntia. 

shown  by  a  document  issued  July  13.  1 747, '  by  Father  Ben- 
jamin Elbel,  whom  we  have  already  mentioned  ;  he  was  Com- 
missary General  of  the  Franciscan  Order  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Alps.  According  to  this  document,  there  were  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  letters  in  hand,  which  he 
ordered  to  be  burnt  for  conscience' sake,  as  they  contained 
many  secret  things.  Among  them  from  seventy  to  eighty 
were  from  persons  of  the  highest  position  in  Church  and 
State  ;  for  example,  four  letters  from  the  Empress  Amalia, 
wife  of  the  Emperor  Joseph  I. ;  three  from  the  Princess-elec- 
tor Amalia  of  the  Electorate  of  Bavaria  ;  several  from  the 
widowed  Empress  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Charles  VI.;  one 
from  Queen  Josepha  of  Poland,  and  one  from  King  Augus- 
tus III. ;  six  from  the  Prince-elector  of  Cologne ;  others 
from  the  Princes-electors  of  Saxony,  from  the  Archbishop 
of  Salzburg,  and  from  the  Bishop  of  Brixen,  with  the 
humble  signature,  "Casper  Ignatius"  the  sinner;  some 
others  from  the  Princess-elector  Emanuela  Teresa,  Sister 
of  Charles  VII. ;  more  than  thirty  from  the  Duchess  of 
Savoy  nee  Princess  of  Lichtensteiu  ;  from  the  Prince 
of  Lowenstein,  from  a  Margrave  of  Baden  and  a  prince 
of  Hohenlohe.  The  other  seven  hundred  letters  were  for 
the  most  part  from  high  personages,  fourteen  of  them  from 
princely  persons,  several  of  them  ministers,  generals,  and 
men  distinguished  for  learning.  These  names  show  how 
great  already  was  her  reputation  for  sanctity,  and  how  as- 
tonishing was  the  extent  of  her  influence. 

Nearly  all  the  answers  to  these  letters  were  written,  not 
by  herself,  but  mostly  by  Sister  M.  Neth,  as  is  shown  by 
the  hand-writing  of  the  many  still  in  existence.  Crescentia 
doubtless  gave  the  substance  of  the  reply,  and  her  secretary 
then  couched  it  in  the  ceremonious  forms  at  that  time  in 
vogue  ;  but  as  has  already  been  said,  the  secretary  is  sup- 
posed to  have  acted  rather  independently,  and  whether 
from  forgetfulness  or  from  her  own  imagination,  to  have 
inserted  many  things  which  were  not  told  her. 

1  Act.  B.  Sumni.  ObJ.  N.  38. 


How  Successfully  Crescentia  Labored.     295 

Among  those  who  kept  up  a  letter  correspondence  with 
her  we  may  also  mention  Maurus  Xaverius,  Abbot  of 
Plankstetten,  who  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  of  whom 
a  somewhat  lengthy  biography  was  reprinted  in  the 
"  Eichstadter  Pastoral  Blatt,"  A.  D.  1857.  From  that 
paper  we  borrow  the  following  : l  "  In  the  letters  (of  the 
abbot),  we  come  quite  often  upon  the  name  of  blessed 
Crescentia  of  Kaufbeuren,  with  whom  he  carried  on  a 
correspondence  by  letter,  and  of  whom  he  afterwards 
distributed  some  relics.  Once  he  received  from  her  a  sap- 
ling of  a  pear  tree  which  he  gave  to  the  gardener  (John 
Trindorfer),  with  directions  to  plant  it.  The  gardener 
replied,  with  a  laugh,  that  it  would  probably  be  labor  in 
vain,  as  the  sapling  was  dry  and  withered.  Father  Mau- 
rus, however,  insisted  on  his  orders  being  obeyed,  and  the 
sapling  really  grew  into  a  lovely  tree,  which  bore  still  love- 
lier fruit.  Father  Erhard  Eichter,  who  told  us  of  this, 
knew  the  gardener  well,  heard  the  story  from  his  own 
mouth,  and  picked  some  of  the  pears  growing  on  that  tree/'  * 

She  was  also  in  close  communication  with  two  priests  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  of  the  monastery  of  Mury-Gries, 
as  is  manifested  by  several  letters.3  To  Father  Placidus 
Vigier  (f  1745),  Dean  of  the  monastery,  who  had  asked  her 
advice  as  to  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  resign  his 
office,  as  it  was  so  much  mixed  up  with  secular  matters, 
she  replied,  on  March  llth,  1741,  advising  him  to  re- 
main in  the  office  imposed  on  him  by  obedience.  When 
the  Superiors  had  left  to  this  same  Father  the  decision 
whether  on  account  of  sickness  he  should  resign  or  not, 
she  again  advised  him  to  leave  it  to  the  Superiors,  and  to 
invoke  the  Holy  Ghost  to  enlighten  them,  for  which  pur- 

1  No.  11.  Jahrg.  iv.  p.  54. 

3  This  history  of  the  withered  branch  is  confirmed  by  a  manuscript  found  in  the 
possession  of  the  late  Dr.  Antony  Sporer,  which  contains  the  life  of  the  servant  of 
God,  by  Kilian  Katzenberger,  together  with  one  hundred  and  thirty-flve  reports  of 
miracles,  from  the  years  1753  to  1778.  UTe  are  indebted  for  this  notice,  and  also  for 
some  others,  to  the  kindness  of  Father  Constantlne,  of  the  Friars  Minor  of  the  Ca- 
puchins. 

i'iited  to  us  by  TiKlicr  Murtiuus  Klein,  O.  S.  B.,  of  Sarnen. 


296        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

pose  she  also  promised  to  pray.  In  a  letter  to  him,  dated 
March  1,  1741,  the  subsequent  passage  is  found  :  "  My 
God !  I  am  a  mere  nothing,  and  from  me  nothing  is  to 
be  expected,  but  from  our  great,  merciful,  and  loving  God, 
who  is  so  kind  and  does  not  despise  a  mere  nothing  like 
myself,  and  of  His  goodness  comes  to  the  help  of  all  men; 
to  Him  be  given  all  honor,  praise,  thanksgiving  and  ben- 
ediction !"  To  Father  Anselmus  Frei,  of  the  same  Order 
(f  1762),  who  had  offered  to  say  Mass  for  her  intention 
once  every  month  so  long  as  he  lived,  she  writes  to  ex- 
press her  gratitude,  and  since  he  left  it  to  her  to  fix  the 
day  on  which  Mass  should  be  said,  she  selects  Thursday  : 
"  Because  on  this  day  the  greatest  benefit  was  bestowed  on 
us  poor  mortals,  as  our  dear  Saviour  gave  Himself  to  us 
as  food,  and  also  as  a  holy,  daily,  and  unbloody  sacrifice. 
This  is  a  grace  which  can  never  be  sufficiently  valued." 

Several  letters,  which  are  still  in  existence,  written  partly 
in  the  name  of  Crescentia,  partly  in  that  of  her  Superior- 
ess, Mother  M.  Johanna,  bear  witness  to  the  veneration 
in  which  she  was  held  by  the  pious  Baron  of  Bodman  and 
his  family.  From  two  letters  of  March,  1725,  it  is  evident 
that  this  nobleman  desired  to  enter  into  a  closer  union  of 
spirit  with  her,  and  wished  that  "she  might  receive  him 
as  her  spiritual  brother."  This  was  too  much  for  her 
humility.  The  Superioress,  however,  writes  to  him  that 
she  had  given  her  the  command  to  comply  with  his  request, 
and  as  his  sister  to  remember  him  and  always  to  pray  for 
him.  In  all  her  own  letters  to  him,  Crescentia  exhorts 
the  baron  to  lay  aside  his  over-anxiety,  and  put  his  whole 
trust  in  God,  that  He  would  not  let  him  be  lost,  for  His 
will  is  that  every  one  should  be  blest.  On  April  2d, 
1729,  she  communicates  to  him,  concerning  her  own  per- 
son, "  that  her  Divine  Beloved  also  took  her  to  task  a  lit- 
tle, and  that  she  was  glad  that  she  had  yet  longer  to  suffer, 
before  she  could  enjoy  something  of  His  love."  It  will  not 
be  uninteresting  to  read  what  the  Superioress  wrote  in 
Crescentia's  name,  M:\rrh  15,  173'?  :  "  I  am  not  at  all  op- 


How  Successfully  Crescentia  Labored.        297 

posed  to  the  vow  not  to  dance  or  masquerade  any  more, 
as  these  vanities  are  not  pleasing  to  God ;  I  wish  a  stop 
could  be  put  to  them  over  the  whole  world,  for  certainly 
no  honor  accrues  to  God  by  their  means  ;  on  the  contrary, 
they  are  injurious  to  God's  honor  and  the  salvation  of 
souls."  The  petition  of  the  same  nobleman  to  be  allowed 
to  have  a  scapular  made  from  the  mantle  of  the  servant  of 
God,  the  Superioress  very  properly  refuses,  with  the  remark 
that  "  the  like  of  that  is  not  permitted  during  one's  lifetime." 

The  day  of  judgment  alone  will  reveal  how  many  sin- 
ners she  converted  by  salutary  encouragement  and  prayer. 
We  subjoin  a  few  cases  that  have  been  made  public  by  the 
Acts.  The  following  conversion  is  very  remarkable: J  A 
certain  military  officer,  holding  a  high  position,  who  was 
recklessly  living  a  life  of  excess,  one  day  found  on  his 
writing-desk  a  closed  note.  He  read  it,  and  became  as  if 
thunder-struck.  In  it  were  enumerated  all  his  enormous 
sins,  and  underneath  was  the  signature,  M.  Crescentia 
Hoss.  A  powerful  feeling  of  contrition  seized  him  ;  he 
made  a  good  confession  and  from  that  time  forward  led  a 
Christian  life.  He  wrote  to  Crescentia  with  his  own  hand, 
told  her  of  the  course  of  his  conversion,  and  in  burn- 
ing words  expressed  his  gratitude  towards  the  saviour 
of  his  soul.  Sister  M.  Barbara,  the  witness,  had  read  the 
letter  herself. 

Another  gentleman  of  distinction  had  led  a  very  scandal- 
ous life."  All  the  entreaties  and  prayers  of  his  good  and 
pious  wife  had  been  without  effect.  He  went  once  to  Kauf- 
beuren  and  had  a  long  conversation  with  Crescentia.  She 
spoke  so  thrillingly  to  his  heart,  that  on  his  return  home 
he  prepared  himself  for  a  good  confession,  and  ever  after 
led  an  exemplary  life.  When  on  his  death-bed  he  said 
publicly  :  "  I  esteem  those  happy  who  have  recourse  to 
the  prayers  of  M.  Crescentia  ;  it  is  by  her  intercession  that 
God  has  granted  me  this  great  grace,  without  which  I 
should  have  perished  eternally."  Father  Ott  reports  that 

1  Siimm.  N.  10  §  253.  -  Suinm.  N.  21  8  76.  -Ott,  tt.  III.  C.  7. 


298        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

the  soul  of  this  gentleman  appeared  after  his  death  to  the 
servant  of  God,  beseeching  her  by  her  prayers  to  deliver 
him  from  purgatory,  as  she  had  already  delivered  him  from 
hell.  Then,  after  a  short  interval,  she  received  a  revelation 
that  he  had  entered  the  glory  of  Heaven. 

A  young  merchant  of  Augsburg/  a  brother  of  Sister  M. 
Antonia  Duboin,  was  so  addicted  to  vice,  particularly  to 
drinking  and  gambling,  that  he  lost  many  thousand  florins 
and  in  a  short  time  had  dissipated  his  whole  fortune. 
He  would  not  listen  to  anything  about  religion  or 
about  reforming  himself,  and  in  spite  of  the  entreaties 
of  his  mother,  wife,  brothers,  and  sisters,  lived  on  in 
this  infatuated  manner.  His  sister  Antonia  at  length  rec- 
ommended him  to  the  prayers  of  Crescentia,  who  exhorted 
her  to  trust  in  God  and  promised  to  pray  for  him,  holding 
out  hopes  of  his  conversion.  Suddenly  the  profligate  man 
was  taken  sick,  and  became  converted  in  the  most  edify- 
ing way.  When  he  was  about  to  receive  the  Viaticum, 
notwithstanding  his  great  pains,  he  insisted  on  being  taken 
out  of  bed,  knelt  down,  and  received  the  Blessed  Sac- 
rament with  the  greatest  devotion  ;  he  then  assisted  at  Mas-. 
which  was  said  in  his  room,  up  to  the  end.  They  then 
put  him  back  in  his  bed,  where  he  received  Extreme 
Unction  ;  the  agony  of  death  soon  came  on,  and  he  died 
in  the  sentiments  of  penance  and  with  the  greatest  resig- 
nation. According  to  Father  Ott's  report,  he,  too,  after 
death,  appeared  to  Crescentia,  to  thank  her  for  her  power- 
ful assistance,  without  which  he  would  have  been  lost. 

If  we  resembled  the  servant  of  God  in  humility  and  in 
love,  God  would  also  make  use  of  us  to  direct  the  cur- 
rents of  His  grace  and  mercy  to  many  souls  now  going 
astray.  Grace  well  used  begets  new  grace,  not  only  in  our- 
selves, but  in  others  also,  even  if  in  another  way.  There- 
fore, 0  Christian  soul,  remember  what  St.  Paul  says : 
"  Wherefore  receive  one  another,  as  Christ  also  hath  re- 
ceived you  unto  the  honor  of  God."  * 

»  Summ.  N.  lOgOO,  183,  222.    on,  I!.   I.  »Bom.xv.7. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

How  Crescentia  was    Endowed  with  the  Spirit  of 
Prophecy  and  the  Gift  of  Curing  the  Sick.1 

OULS  endowed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  with  extraor- 
dinary graces  for  their  own  sanctification  gen- 
erally receive  marvellous  gifts  for  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  others,  and  for  building  up  the 
Church  of  Christ,  which  is  His  spiritual  body.  That  this 
godly  virgin  was  specially  privileged  in  this  respect  fol- 
lows from  the  traits  of  her  life  as  already  told.  Neverthe- 
less, we  have  here  many  things  to  subjoin.  We  have,  in 
the  first  place,  to  remark  that  even  in  these  gifts,  which 
are  not  in  themselves  real  virtues,  and  are  consequently  not 
meritorious,  her  sublime  virtue  nevertheless  shone  forth 
conspicuously  from  the  fact  that  she  had  no  attachment 
to  these  effects  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  laid  no  stress  upon  them, 
was  even  distrustful  of  everything  extraordinary,  subject- 
ing all  such  entirely  to  the  judgment  of  her  confessors. 

Concerning  the  gift  of  prophecy,  many  cases  have  been 
attested  in  which  she  foretold  the  future  and  laid  open  hid- 
den things.  The  testimony  of  Cardinal  Von  Eoth,  Prince- 
bishop  of  Constance,  is  very  important.  When  this  pious 
prince  of  the  Church,  in  1770,  visited  the  sepulchre  of  the 
servant  of  God,  he  declared  before  the  Sisters  and  many 
ecclesiastical  gentlemen  that  during  her  life-time  the  de- 
ceased had  told  him  many  things  of  the  future,  all  of  which 
had  come  to  pass. 

Sister  M.  Constantia  Leder,  *  in  the  year  1742,  suffered 
from  pectoral  dropsy,  yet  so  that  she  could  take  part  in 
the  religious  exercises  of  the  community,  and  no  immediate 
danger  seemed  at  hand.  On  the  31st  of  March  the  servant 
of  God,  who  was  then  Superioress,  said  to  her,  very  early  in 
the  morning,  that  she  should  prepare  for  death,  and  after  di- 

»  Svunm.  N.  21  «  1-167.  2  Summ.  N.  21  g  88,  86,  94. 


300        The  Li/e  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

vine  service  receive  Extreme  Unction.  The  sick  Sister,  not 
having  noticed  any  change  for  the  worse,  was  much  sur- 
prised at  this  bidding,  but  she  believed  in  her  Superioress, 
and  was  present  at  the  holy  sacrifice  of  the  Mass,  went  to 
confession  in  her  turn  with  the  other  Sisters  to  Rev.  P. 
Januarius  Maier,  S.  J.,  and  then  requested  him  to  admin- 
ister the  Sacraments  of  the  dying,  which  he  did.  The 
next  morning  she  was  again  present  at  Mass  aud  went 
to  bed  only  at  the  command  of  the  Mother  Superior.  The 
Sister-iiifirmarian  was  directed  not  to  leave  her  for  a  mo- 
ment. At  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  sick  Sister  sud- 
denly had  a  relapse  of  her  complaint  and  died  forthwith. 

In  the  year  1737,  Sister  M.  Barbara  Neth1  seemed  to  be 
in  her  last  agony ;  the  infirmarian  Sisters  therefore,  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  gave  the  usual  signal  on  the  bell 
for  the  Sisters  to  meet,  to  assist  the  departing  Sister  with 
their  prayers.  M.  Barbara  Kiening  and  Gabriel  Merz,  who 
were  then  postulants,  hastened  with  the  other  Sisters  to  the 
infirmary.  Passing  through  the  oratory  they  beheld  M. 
Crescentia  there,  undisturbed  in  prayer.  They  then  asked 
her,  their  mistress,  for  permission  to  go  with  the  other  Sis- 
ters to  the  dying  nun.  But  she  answered  :  "  Mary  Bar- 
bara is  not  going  to  die  now,  but  at  five  o'clock;  so  go  quietly 
back  again."  And  in  reality  that  Sister  did  die  when  the 
clock  struck  five.  Once  Crescentia  told  Sister  M.  Bene- 
dicta  Pez  that  she  would  get  a  sickness  which  would  render 
it  necessary  for  her  to  be  separated  from  the  other  Sisters  ; 
this  really  happened  in  the  year  1749. 

On  February  23d,  1731,  Crescentia'  met  Sister  M.  Coletta 
Grobl  at  the  stair-case  and  told  her  to  prepare  for  death;  it 
was  high  time.  The  one  spoken  to  felt  quite  well,  and  did 
not  believe  these  words.  On  the  same  day,  at  supper,  she 
felt  unwell,  left  the  refectory,  and  at  the  door  was  struck 
with  paralysis  which  deprived  her  of  all  consciousness  ;  rem- 
edies were  applied,  she  recovered  sufficiently  to  be  absolved 
and  anointed  ;  ten  hours  after  the  attack  she  was  a  corpse. 

.  N.  21  9  17,  90.          »  Ott,  B.  HI   ' 


Her  Gift  of  Prophecy.  301 

The  same  Father  Ott  relates  the  folio  wing  circumstance: ' 
Father  Ferdinand  Troper,  S.  J.,  preacher  at  the  pa- 
rochial Church  of  Kaufbeuren,  became  a  little  unwell,  with- 
out any  indications,  however,  that  his  sickness  was  danger- 
ous. But  when  Father  Bartholomew  Binner  came  to 
Crescentia,  she  begged  him  to  go  home  at  once,  and  ad- 
minister the  last  sacraments  to  his  sick  brother  in  religion, 
for  it  was  high  time.  He  remonstrated  ;  but  she  insisted 
more  and  more  earnestly  in  her  petition.  He  resolved  to  go 
and  tell  the  sick  Father  what  had  happened  ;  this  Father, 
knowing  the  prophetic  spirit  of  Crescentia,  immediately 
received  the  rites  of  the  Church  at  six  o'clock,  March  13, 
1736.  He  lost  consciousness  immediately  after  and  died 
before  midnight.  She  told  her  own  sister  Regina  that 
their  beloved  father  would  die  on  the  following  day,  before 
noon."  She  also  told  her  the  very  hour  in  which  her 
husband,  Joseph  Heinritz,  would  die.  Both  events  hap- 
pened exactly  as  predicted.  Not  infrequently  she  told  the 
Sisters  of  persons  dying,  who  lived  far  off,  at  the  very  hour 
when  the  death  occurred  ;  this  is  especially  mentioned,  rel- 
ative to  the  death  of  Father  Ignatius  Lieb,  S.  J.,  who  had 
been  confessor  to  the  community. 

Sigter  M.  Bernardine  Gast s  was  tormented  with  an  ex- 
ceedingly great  fear  of  death.  Crescentia  told  her  she 
would  have  to  suffer  these  spiritual  torments  until  shortly 
before  her  death ;  that  then  this  temptation  would  make 
room  for  the  sweetest  peace.  In  the  beginning  of  August, 
1713,  all  this  fear  of  death  passed  suddenly  into  an  ardent 
desire  to  die.  She  died  on  the  llth  of  the  same  month, 
smiling  and  with  incredible  joy,  being  assisted  by  Father  Ott. 

John  Baptist  von  Benedict,4  having  finished  his  studies, 
was  firmly  resolved  to  try  his  fortune  in  the  military  ser- 
vice. When  on  a  journey,  he  paid  a  visit  to  the  servant  of 
God  and  told  her  of  the  state  of  life  he  had  chosen.  She 
smiled  and  said  he  would  bv  no  means  enter  the  secular 


1  Ott,  B.  I.  2  Summ.  N.  21  8  6T,  68. 

3  Ibid.  §  90  and  Father  Ott,  B.  I.  *  Ibid.  8  151. 


302        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

but  the  spiritual  militia.  He  shrugged  his  shoulders  in- 
credulously. Not  long  afterwards,  however,  he  suddenly 
resolved  to  enter  the  Society  of  Jesus.  He  became  a 
priest  and  professor,  and  frequently  told  Dr.  Joseph  Meich- 
elbeck,  who  was  a  pupil  of  his,  of  this  remarkable 
prophecy. 

To  John  Baptist  Neth,1  a  citizen  of  Kaufbeuren  without 
any  literary  education,  she  announced  the  most  improb- 
able events  long  before  they  happened.  He  was  to  become 
the  steward  of  a  noble  family,  and  after  that  a  senator,  and 
then  a  member  of  the  privy  council  of  his  native  city. 
When  this  man's  two  sons  studied  Latin,  he  too  began  to 
study  that  language.  He  followed  up  this  study  with  that 
of  others  with  such  zeal  that,  being  well-talented,  he  made 
great  progress.  On  account  of  his  knowledge  and  honor- 
able character  he  became,  in  the  first  place,  steward  of  the 
noble  family  of  Imhoff,  and  then  senator  of  his  native 
city.  This  office  he  kept  up  to  the  time  of  his  universally 
lamented  death  in  1762.  We  believe  we  ought  also  to 
mention  what  Father  Kilianus  Katzenberger  relates  :  * 
Crescentia  went,  in  the  year  1729,  on  a  visit  to  another 
convent.  There  she  told  the  door-keeper,  a  young  and  ro- 
bust Sister,  to  prepare  herself  for  death.  The  Sister,  how- 
ever, thought  she  was  still  so  young  and  strong,  why  should 
she  have  to  die  ?  Yet  she  died  in  a  few  weeks. 

While  Crescentia  was  yet  Mistress  of  Novices,  she  sev- 
eral times  said  to  her  pupils  : '  "  You  do  not  pay  much 
attention  now  to  what  I  say,  but  the  time  will  come  when 
you  will  gather  up  all  my  words."  No  one  then  understood 
what  this  meant  :  but  the  words  were  fulfilled  after  her 
death,  when  in  the  examination  for  her  Beatification,  the 
Sisters  carefully  collected  all  her  teachings  and  called  to 
mind  every  reminiscence  concerning  the  servant  of  God. 

We  have  already 4  spoken  of  the  prophecy  she  uttered  in 
regard  to  the  suppression  and  re-establishment  of  her  own 

1  Buram.  N.  91 1 198.          *  Life  of  Crescentia,  C.  18.  *  Summ.  N.  81 1 4, 10. 

«  B.  I.  0.4. 


Her  Gift  of  Prophecy.  303 

convent.  A  similar  one  she  is  said  to  have  made  respect- 
ing the  future  suppression  and  restoration  of  the  Saxon 
province  of  the  Holy  Cross  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  to  which 
the  author  of  this  book  belongs.  We  can  adduce  no  writ- 
ten document  in  attestation  of  this,  but  only  give  the  tradi- 
tion which  was  known  throughout  the  province  even  before 
the  French  Revolution.  According  to  this  tradition,  she, 
probably  between  1741  and  1744,  very  distinctly  told  the 
Superior  of  said  province,  who  visited  her  when  on  his  way 
to  Eome,  that  this  province,  which  was  then  very  extensive 
and  flourishing,  would  at  a  later  period  be  entirely  sup- 
pressed, though  practically  some  convents  would  continue 
to  exist ;  that  from  this  germ  the  province  of  the  Holy 
Cross  would  revive  at  two  different  periods,  at  the  first  one 
imperfectly,  but  at  the  second  it  would  attain  to  a  greater 
extent  and  prosperity  than  ever  before,  and  even  carry  its 
branches  beyond  the  ocean.  The  first  two  parts  of  this 
prophecy  were  accomplished  in  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury (1800).  During  the  long  pressure  of  the  suppression 
of  religious  houses,  the  Fathers  who  survived  the  acts  of  vio- 
lence often  built  their  hopes  for  better  times  on  the  above- 
mentioned  words  of  Crescentia.  The  beginning  of  the  ful- 
filment of  the  last  part  took  place  in  the  years  1829 
to  1831,  and  especially  since  1844,  when  the  noble-hearted 
King  Frederic  William  IV.  granted  sufficient  liberty  to  the 
Order.  And  since  the  year  1858  the  province  of  this  Order 
has  founded  several  monasteries  in  North  America.  God 
grant  that  the  complete  accomplishment  of  this  consoling 
prophecy  may  come  to  pass  ! 

The  light  given  to  her  by  God  very  often  revealed  to  her 
secret  things  of  the  present  time.  It  frequently  happened 
that  she  anticipated  the  words  of  the  persons  coming  to 
consult  her,  telling  them  before  they  spoke  what  they 
wished,  what  had  been  done  already,  and  what  was  still  to 
be  done  in  the  matter  concerned.  That  she  often,  with 
love  and  discretion,  disclosed  the  secrets  of  their  hearts  to 
the  Sisters,  we  have  before  noticed,  and  we  could  add  their 


304         The  Life  of  Veu.  Mary  Crescent  ia. 

testimonies. '  We  will  speak  here  only  of  the  cases  in  which 
she  knew  the  thoughts  of  outsiders. 

When  Father  Adam  Flotto,  S.  J.,*  at  that  time  a  re- 
nowned missionary,  was  rector  of  the  college  at  Mindel- 
heim,  a  most  difficult  and  important  case  of  conscience  was 
laid  before  him  in  the  confessional  to  decide.  He  could 
not  come  to  a  clear  opinion  upon  the  matter,  whether  to 
decide  in  the  affirmative  or  negative,  although  he  had 
looked  through  many  books  on  the  subject.  The  seal  of 
confession  prevented  his  consulting  other  theologians,  and 
thus  he  was  not  a  little  embarrassed.  After  some  time, 
Mother  Johanna,  accompanied  by  Sister  Crescentia,  came 
to  Mindelheim  on  business  and  called  on  the  said  Father  to 
obtain  his  advice.  As  he  was  speaking  to  the  Mother  Su- 
perior, the  servant  of  God  said  to  him  all  at  once  :  "  Your 
reverence  must  in  this  affair  (she  mentioned  it  distinctly) 
give  an  affirmative  answer,  for  that  is  the  will  of  God." 
The  surprise  of  the  priest  was  very  great,  and  he  after- 
wards asserted  that  he  had  kept  his  doubts  to  himself,  with- 
out manifesting  his  thoughts  to  any  one,  and  that  no  one 
could  have  known  them. 

When  priests  said  Mass  for  her  or  for  her  intention, 
it  was  often  made  known  to  her  by  divine  manifestation. 
Father  Placidus,  0.  S.  F.,  had  notified  her  that  he  had  said 
one  holy  Mass  for  her;  she  thanked  him  in  writing  for  having 
also  offered  another  for  her,  which  he  had  really  done, 
but  without  any  one's  knowing  it.  She  also  thanked  Rev. 
Conrad  Pfottlin,  the  parish  priest,  for  a  holy  Mass  he  had 
said  for  her  in  the  parish  church.  This  case  had  been  so 
concealed  that  nobody  knew  of  it. 

Rev.  Father  Bed  a,1  Abbot  of  the  Benedictine  monastery 
at  Zwiefalten,  had  heard  of  the  many  revelations  and 
ecstasies  of  the  servant  of  God.  Fearing  a  secret  deception 
of  the  devil,  he  said  a  holy  Mass  with  the  intention  that 
God  might  either  humble  the  deluded  soul  and  thereby  save 

1  Compare  Summ.  N.  21  §  33.  *  Ibid.  S  83,  and  Father  Ott,  B.  I. 

3  Ott,  B.  I. 


Her  Gift  of  Prophecy.  305 

her,  or,  if  her  revelations  were  genuine,  to  carry  them  fur- 
ther still  with  His  grace.  This  intention  was  known  only 
to  him  and  to  God.  Yet  on  the  same  day  on  which  he 
had  said  the  holy  Mass,  Crescentia  revealed  the  thoughts 
of  this  pious  priest  to  her  Superioress,  asking  permission  of 
her  to  write  her  thanks  to  him,  which  was  done.  The  ab- 
bot himself  mentioned  this  occurrence,  which  so  well  ex- 
emplifies the  spirit  of  Crescentia,  to  several  persons,  of 
whom  Father  Ott  gives  the  names. 

The  same  author  relates,  with  its  minutest  details,  the 
following  curious  history,  which  so  thoroughly  attests  the 
prophetic  spirit  of  the  virgin,  and  which  we  give  here, 
omitting  some  non-essential  circumstances.  Anthony 
Aendras,  a  poor  farmer  of  Thalhofen,  near  Oberdorf,  had 
two  children  by  his  wife  Agnes  ;  one  of  them  was  five  years, 
the  other  six  weeks  old.  On  October  28th,  1742,  both  the 
parents  went  to  Church,  and  carelessly  left  the  children 
at  home  alone.  A  wicked  woman  from  Unterthingau, 
named  Anna  Korpf,  who  a  few  weeks  before  had  enjoyed 
their  hospitality,  and  had  withdrawn  from  the  place,  ap- 
parently to  lie  in  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  kidnap  the 
baby,  entered  the  house  while  they  were  away.  She  hoped 
and  intended,  with  the  help  of  an  accomplice  in  guilt,  to 
sell  the  child  at  a  high  price  to  certain  Jews  who  had  then 
come  to  Augsburg  on  account  of  the  war.  In  order  not  to 
be  discovered,  she  strangled  the  oldest  child,  concealed  the 
body  under  a  heap  of  straw,  set  fire  to  the  bedstead,  and  then 
with  the  youngest  child  secretly  betook  herself  to  Augsburg. 
When  the  mother  came  home  and  opened  the  door,  the 
house  was  full  of  smoke  and  fire,  the  cradle  was  empty,  and 
neither  of  the  two  children  was  to  be  found.  At  her  loud 
shrieks  the  whole  village  ran  together,  among  them  the 
parish  priest,  Father  John  Leonard  Lochbronner.  The  fire 
was  extinguished,  but  no  trace  of  the  children  could  be 
found.  The  people  searched  for  them  for  three  days  but 
without  success  ;  then  a  rumor  arose  that  the  parents  them- 
selves had  caused  this  inexplicable  disappearance  of  their 


306        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

children.     This  new  trouble  drove  the  unfortunate  couple 
nearly  to  desperation. 

More  than  once  they  were  summoned  before  a  court  of 
justice,  and  as  no  one  took  their  part,  they  did  not  know 
how  to  clear  themselves  of  the  charge  made  against  them. 
In  her  extreme  distress  the  mother  had  recourse  to  St.  An- 
thony of  Padua,  that  by  his  intercession  they  might  find 
out  where  their  children  were  and  be  freed  from  this  fright- 
ful suspicion.  She  had  scarcely  sent  up  this  cry  of  her 
heart  to  Heaven  than  it  seemed  to  her  she  saw  a  religious 
standing  before  her,  and  she  immediately  thought 
that  it  must  be  the  "pious  Crescentia,"  who  would  help 
her.  She  wished  to  go  at  once  to  Kaufbeuren,  but  could 
not  find  anybody  to  accompany  her,  until  at  length  Barbara 
Huber,  who  was  but  seventeen  years  old,  went  with  her  out 
of  compassion.  On  the  30th  of  October  both  came  to  the 
convent  and  desired  to  speak  with  Crescentia,  but  she  was 
very  sick  and  could  not  be  seen  by  strangers;  then  the  un- 
happy mother,  amid  much  weeping  and  sobbing,  told  the 
door-keeper  what  she  wanted,  that  she  might  tell  the  whole 
story  of  her  misfortunes  to  the  servant  of  God. 

But  Crescentia  did  not  listen  to  the  story  ;  she  told  the 
Sister  to  say  to  the  woman  that  she  must  bear  her  heavy 
cross  with  patience,  prayer,  and  trust ;  that  God  would 
bring  it  all  to  a  happy  issue  ;  meantime,  she  was  to  blame 
nobody,  and  forgive  her  enemies.  It  would  be  some  time 
yet  before  her  innocence  was  made  known,  but  meantime 
she  should  suffer  herself  to  "  be  walked  over  and  trodden 
upon."  Concerning  the  holy  Mass — which  the  woman  had 
not  mentioned,  but  which  she  had  intended  to  have  said — 
Crescentia  herself  would  take  charge  of  that  and  have  it 
said  instead  of  her,  and  also  promised  that  the  Sisters  should 
pray  for  her,  that  she  might  not  lose  her  reason.  She  was, 
however,  to  make  the  pilgrimage  she  had  promised  at  once, 
if  not  previously  prevented.  This  last  case  did  occur  ;  the 
innocent  woman  was  arrested  on  the  road  by  the  police  and 
taken  before  the  court. 


Her  Gift  of  Prophecy.  307 

The  poor  mother,  meantime,  was  in  no  way  satisfied  with 
the  message  received;  she  wanted  absolutely  to  know  whether 
her  children  were  alive,  and  where  they  were  ;  she  there- 
fore sent  the  door-keeper  again  to  Crescentia,  who  sent 
back  word  that  she  would  find  out  where  the  eldest  was 
as  soon  as  she  returned  home:  and  that  the  youngest  was 
still  living,  but  very  weak.  And,  in  fact,  the  unhappy 
woman,  on  returning  home  from  the  court,  heard,  even  be- 
fore entering  the  village,  that  the  body  of  the  eldest  child 
had  been  discovered  under  the  heap  of  straw.  The  inves- 
tigations by  the  magistracy  and  the  insults  and  affronts  of 
the  frantic  people  continued  for  some  weeks  longer  to  har- 
ass the  oppressed  parents.  Then  a  report  was  circulated 
that  the  baby  had  been  found  at  Augsburg.  The  parents 
at  once  set  out  for  that  place;  on  their  way  they  called  at 
the  convent  of  Kaufbeuren  and  heard  from  Crescentia 
that  as  soon  as  they  came  to  the  gates  of  the  city  they  would 
ascertain  where  the  child  was  ;  and  indeed,  they  found  peo- 
ple there  who,  supposing  the  child  to  be  in  the  foundling 
house,  conducted  them  thither. 

The  murderers  had,  in  fact,  lost  courage  while  entering 
the  city  by  the  "  Red  Gate,"  and  in  order  to  enter  the  town 
unobserved,  had  set  down  on  one  side  the  basket  contain- 
ing the  child.  A  Protestant  woman  had  discovered  the 
half-frozen  child  and  taken  it  to  the  foundling  house. 
When  the  mother  entered  the  room,  in  which  were  up- 
wards of  thirty  little  children  reposing  in  their  beds, 
she,  as  if  guided  by  an  invisible  hand,  went  straight  up  to 
the  cradle  of  her  little  daughter,  exclaiming  in  her  native 
dialect :  "  0  my  Annie  Bavbele,  how  did  you  get  here  ?" 
Strange  to  say,  the  child  laughed  aloud  !  The  mother 
fainted  away  for  joy.  Several  gentlemen  present  were 
moved  to  tears,  and  provided  effective  assistance  for  these 
troubled  parents. 

Suspicion  soon  fell  on  the  real  culprit;  she  was  arrested, 
found  guilty,  and  with  her  accomplice,  was  executed. 
During  the  trial,  the  much  suffering  parents  remained  at 


508        7 he  Life  of  Voi.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Augsburg  at  the  cost  of  the  city,  and  returned  home  at  the 
end  of  July,  1743,  with  their  child.  On  their  way  back, 
they  desired  to  return  thanks  to  the  servant  of  God,  and  as 
they  rang  the  bell  at  the  convent-door,  the  prophetic  vir- 
gin told  the  door-keeper,  who  happened  to  be  with  her,  to 
"open  the  door,  for  the  people  of  Thalhofen  are  there  with 
their  child/'  The  good  people  begged  of  Crescentia  to  ob- 
tain for  them  the  grace  that  they  might  carry  home  the 
child  alive  to  the  village  ;  it  was  very  sick,  and  its  death 
might  expose  them  to  new  detractions.  On  this  account, 
although  night  was  approaching,  they  proposed  to  go  home 
that  very  day.  The  servant  of  God  quieted  them,  desiring 
them  to  remain  all  night  in  the  city,  because  the  child 
would  not  die  before  their  return  home.  In  fact,  it  died 
four  days  afterwards. 

That  by  her  prayers  she  had  procured  the  recovery  of 
many  sick  persons,  and  relief  to  many  in  trouble,  was  the 
firm  belief  among  all  classes  of  persons,  and  numberless  in- 
stances were  related  of  her  doing  this.  During  her  life 
very  little  of  this  was  written  down,  and  the  remembrance 
of  these  cases  has  in  great  measure  been  lost.  We  subjoin 
a  few  miraculous  cures  from  the  Acts  of  her  Beatification:1 

Francis  Joseph  Krautmann,  or  Kreitman,  of  Kaufbeuren, 
the  only  son  of  a  widow,  lay  hopelessly  sick  of  a  dangerous 
fever.  The  afflicted  mother  went  to  the  Mother  Superior 
Johanna,  to  obtain,  through  her,  prayers  from  Crescentia. 
In  the  very  hour  in  which  the  latter  began  her  fervent 
prayers  in  the  sick  man's  behalf,  an  unexpected  change  took 
\  place,  followed  by  a  rapid  recovery. 

The  child  of  a  teacher  at  Stettin,  nor  far  from  Kaufbeu- 
ren, was  at  five  years  deformed  and  lame  in  both  hands  and 
feet,  and  had  been  so  from  its  birth.  Many  medical  appli- 
ances had  been  used  and  had  helped  nothing.  The  mother, 
Maria  Sattel,  had  recourse  to  Crescentia,  who  promised  to 
pray  for  the  child,  and  gave  her  some  blessed  oil  and  a 
large  Latin  ~[  printed  on  paper  as  a  sign  of  the  Cross.  Three 

1  Summ.  N.  22  6  1-28. 


Her  Gift  of  Prophecy.  309 

days  afterwards  the  child  could  walk,  and  his  limbs  were 
straight  and  sound. 

Lady  Anna  Antonia  Dorothea  (nee  von  Horbens),  of 
Pappus,  had  for  a  length  of  time  had  a  cancer  on  the  breast 
which  was  continually  increasing.  When  all  medical  ap- 
pliances had  proved  useless,  and  the  pain  was  becoming 
unbearable,  she,  in  the  year  1733,  had  recourse  to  Crescentia, 
who  only  gave  her  a  little  blessed  oil.  The  evil  disappeared 
almost  instantly.  The  healed  lady  with  her  own  hands 
wrote  out  a  testimony  of  this  miraculous  cure. 

Besides  the  case, '  already  mentioned,  when  by  an  heroic 
act  of  love  she  cured  the  wounds  on  the  feet  of  Sister  M. 
Anna  Neth,  it  is  said  that  she  also  obtained  by  her  prayers, 
to  the  admiration  and  astonishment  of  all,  a  sudden  restor- 
ation to  health  of  the  Superioress  M.  Johanna,  at  a  time 
when  her  death  seemed  near  and  inevitable.  At  a  furious 
fire  which  originated  in  a  brewery  in  Kaufbeuren,  circum- 
stances rendered  the  fire  so  dangerous  that  the  worst  was 
apprehended  for  the  city,  and  it  seemed  certain  that  the 
nearest  houses  would  assuredly  be  lost.  People  came  to  ask 
the  servant  of  God  to  pray;  she  did  so  with  great  fervor. 
In  the  most  striking  way  the  fire  seemed  to  go  out,  as  if  of 
itself.  Lutherans,  as  well  as  Catholics,  looked  on  the 
event  as  something  supernatural,  and  it  was  unanimously 
attributed  to  the  powerful  prayer  of  Crescentia. a 

Father  Ott  relates  the  cure  of  Joseph  Filser,  of  Flissen, 
in  the  year  1739,  which  made  a  great  sensation,  as  after  a 
severe  sickness  which  had  lasted  three  months  the  several 
doctors  who  had  been  in  attendance  had  given  up  all  hopes. 
As  soon  as  the  sick  man  received  some  blessed  articles  sent 
to  him  by  Crescentia,  he  became  suddenly  and  perfectly 
well. 

The  miracles  which  the  Lord  promised  should  accompany 
those  who  believe  in  Him3  have  never  died  out  in  the 
Catholic  Church;  every  century,  up  to  the  present  moment, 
has  witnessed  them  in  immeasurable  fulness,  if  not  in  the 

1  B.  II.  C.  9.  a  Summ.  N.  29  §  27.  3  Marl{  xvl   17(  18. 


3IO        The  Life  of  yen.  Mary  L' re  scent  ia. 

same  degree.  .Many  millions  of  reports  of  such  signs  of  the  di- 
vine power  and  goodness  huve  been  written  down,  but  have 
often  been  forgotten  and  sometimes  partly  lost.  And  yet 
the  infidel  deigns  not  even  to  cast  a  glance  on  these  works 
of  God  in  order  to  verify  their  truth.  In  this  consists  his 
sin  and  his  condemnation  ! 

0  Christian,  beware  of  pride,  which,  more  than  any  other 
vice,  wraps  up  the  soul  in  a  dark  cloud,  which  so  veils 
his  sight,  that  though  he  has  eyes,  he  seeth  not  !  Our  Lord 
assigns  this  as  the  cause  of  infidelity  in  these  words  :  "  How 
can  you  believe  who  receive  glory  one  from  another  :  and 
the  glory  which  is  from  God  alone,  you  do  not  seek  ?  " ' 


CHAPTER  V. 

Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death  of  Ven.  Cres- 
centia." 

| HE  desire  to  be  dissolved  and  to  be  with  Christ 
increased  from  her  sixteenth  year,  and  gained  so 
greatly  the  upper  hand,  that  it  became  a  pain- 
ful martyrdom,  so  that  only  the  will  of  her  celestial  Spouse 
and  the  love  for  suffering  could  form  a  counter-balance, 
and  keep  her  heart  in  peace  and  rest.  During  the  last  two 
years  of  her  life  she  was  never  weary  of  talking  about 
death  ;  sometimes  she  would  style  it  "  the  prison-keeper," 
sometimes  the  "  marriage-bidder,"  or  "bride-man,"  some- 
times also  the  "wise  man."  Love  had  banished  fear  ;  she 
considered  it  the  zenith  of  happiness  to  die  for  love.  Sister 
M.  Gabriel  writes :  *  "  Nothing  was  sweeter  to  her  than 
Jesus  and  because  she  considered  death  the  door  or  the 
road  to  Jesus,  she  used  to  say,  during  her  life,  as  also  on  her 
death-bed,  'Nothing  is  sweeter  than  Jesus,  Mary  and 
death/" 

1  John  T.  44.     *  Summ.  N-  84  1 1-390.— Act  B.  Inform.  75-86.      *  Gabriel,  p.  291. 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death.    3 1 1 

Father  Ott '  reports  that  once  during  the  life  of  Mother 
Johanna,  she  had  such  a  long  continuous  ecstasy  that  the 
Superioress  became  alarmed  and  finally  determined  to  re- 
call her  to  herself  by  obedience.  When  she  had  not  yet 
completely  recovered  her  normal  condition,  she  said:  "  Oh, 
Reverend  Mother,  how  far  I  am  from  you  ! "  She  afterwards 
told  the  Mother  Superior,  who  inquired  about  it,  that  her 
angel  guardian  had  taken  her  in  spirit  to  hell,  to  purgatory, 
and  to  Heaven,  and  while  gazing  on  the  last  had  said  to 
her  :  "My  foster-child,  here,  where  God  is  venerated  with 
His  elect,  shalt  thou  dwell  forever;  then  I  heard,"  she 
continued,  "the  sweetest  harmony  of  divine  praise,  I  saw 
the  entire  immersion  in  God.  All  the  saints  swim  in  an 
ocean  of  ineffable  joy  and  happiness.  More  I  cannot  tell, 
but  that  no  eye  has  seen,  no  ear  has  ever  heard,  nor  has  it 
ever  entered  into  the  human  heart  to  conceive  what  God 
has  prepared  for  those  who  love  Him."  2 

Her  last  sickness,  the  peculiar  nature  of  which  was  not 
known  to  the  doctors,  began  in  February,  1744,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  Lent.  Her  whole  body  was  penetrated 
with  a  peculiar  inward  heat ;  even  the  Protestant  physician 
could  only  account  for  the  sickness  by  ascribing  it  to  the 
powerful  ardor  of  love  glowing  in  her  soul.  Marrow 
and  bones  seemed  to  be  penetrated  with  flames  of  fire,  head 
and  sides  were  pierced  with  constant  pains,  all  moisture 
had  disappeared,  an  intolerable  thirst  excruciated  her,  the 
roof  of  her  mouth  and  the  mouth  itself  were  parched  ;  the 
tongue  which  was  much  swollen  and  hard,  like  the  bark  of 
a  tree,  was  wounded  with  deep  cuts,  from  which  matter  is- 
sued, the  lips  were  brown  and  split.  The  whole  body  was 
shrunk  up  to  mere  skin  and  bone,  her  back,  on  which  she 
lay  immovable,  soon  became  without  skin  and  was  one  en- 
tire wound  ;  the  left  cheek  and  shoulder  were  fearfully 
swollen,  and  the  whole  body  was  so  racked  with  pains  that 
she  could  say  with  truth,  what  she  told  with  joy  to  her 
confessor,  Father  Pamer,  when  he  asked  her  what  pains 

1  Ott.  B.  IV.  C,  1.  "  I.  Cor.  ii.  9, 


3 1  2        Tke  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

she  suffered  :  that  she  seemed  as  if  she  were  broiled  on  a 
red -hot  gridiron.  It  would  have  been  but  natural  that  such 
a  disease  should  fill  the  room  with  bad  odors  ;  this  was  not 
the  case;  on  the  contrary,  a  pleasant  odor  was  discernible, 
although  no  perfumery  was  used. 

The  sickness  began  with  insignificant  indications,  be- 
tokening no  danger  whatever  ;  yet  she  said  at  once,  to  her 
confessor  and  infirmarian,  that  she  should  surely  die  of  it. 
A  few  days  afterwards  such  dangerous  symptoms  appeared 
that  the  frightened  Sisters  feared  a  near  and  sudden  end. 
She,  however,  assured  them  that  they  need  not  fear  ;  the 
sickness  would  be  a  long  one,  and  she  would  die  a  slow 
and  painful  death,  after  long  and  severe  sufferings.  The 
prospect  of  such  sufferings  seemed  to  impart  a  special 
pleasure  to  her. 

In  this  she  was  always  true  to  herself,  and  her  desire  for 
suffering  manifested  itself  throughout  the  six  weeks,  in 
which  she  had  to  endure  torments  utterly  beyond  mere 
human  strength,  and  she  did  this  in  so  sublime  a  manner, 
that  none  could  witness  without  admiration  and  astonish- 
ment this  spectacle  of  a  soul  wholly  transfigured  by  love 
and  suffering.  Following  the  Redeemer's  example,  she 
would  not  use  anything  to  relieve  her  suffering.  She 
never  asked  for  any  help,  or  for  ease  ;  she  took  no  strength- 
ening remedies,  and  passed  the  whole  six  weeks  without 
food  or  drink,  except  a  little  luke-warm  spring-water,  and 
even  this  not  without  much  persuasion,  and  in  so  small  a 
quantity  that  it  rather  aggravated  than  quenched  her  burn- 
ing thirst.  Neither  of  her  two  doctors  could  explain  how 
anybody  already  so  subdued  by  weakness,  could  sustain  for 
so  long  a  time  such  intense  fever  heat,  without  any  nour- 
ishment at  all.  The  physician  of  the  Prince-abbot  of 
Kempten,  then  counsellor  to  the  court,  declared,  in  a  written 
document  still  extant,  that  this  surpassed  all  the  powers 
of  nature.  They  often  urgently  insisted  on  her  taking 
something,  though  no  one  ventured  to  command  her;  she 
would  then  say  :  "  My  food  is  to  do  the  will  of  my  Father 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death.     3 1 3 

who  is  in  Heaven  :  He  is  my  strength  and  my  food."  If 
the  Sisters  spoke  with  sympathy  about  her  taking  nothing, 
she  would  sometimes  say  : '  "God,  so  full  of  love,  is  infinite- 
ly good  to  me,  in  giving  me,  a  miserable  worm  of  the  earth, 
what  He  Himself  had  on  the  cross.  He  was  so  grievously 
tormented  with  thirst,  and  shall  I,  His  poor  slave,  refresh 
myself  ?  Oh,  no,  that  must  not,  cannot  be  !  " 

Her  only  nourishment  for  body  and  soul  was  the  living 
bread,  which  she  daily  received  in  Holy  Communion,  ex- 
cepting on  Good  Friday.  As  the  pains  increased  from  day 
to  day,  to  an  incredible  height,  so  the  vigor  of  her  soul  in- 
creased in  like  degree.  No  word  of  complaint  ever  issued 
from  her  mouth,  but,  on  the  contrary,  expressions  of  seraph- 
ic love  were  heard  in  the  oft-repeated  words  :  "All  ye 
limbs  and  bones  of  my  body,  praise  ye  the  Lord,  who  has 
given  you  the  capability  of  suffering."  If  any  one  asked 
her  how  she  got  along,  she  would  answer  :  "  Very  well  ;  I 
am  tasting  a  drop  of  the  bitter  chalice  of  my  Lord,  and 
fulfilling  His  will  to  whom  I  give  myself  for  time  and  eter- 
nity." 

Sister  Gabriel  says  : 2  "  When  we,  in  great  grief  and  com- 
passion for  her,  once  told  her  that  we  were  constantly  ask- 
ing God  to  alleviate  her  great  suffering  a  little,  she,  with 
a  cheerful  countenance,  gave  this  answer  :  '  That  prayer 
is  very  pleasing  indeed  to  me  ;  but  the  divine  will  which 
sends  me  these  pains  is  still  more  pleasing.  Jesus,  who 
cured  my  soul,  first  tasted  the  bitter  chalice  of  His  pas- 
sion ;  why  then,  should  I  shrink  from  drinking  it  ?  My 
dear  Sisters,  happy  is  he  to  whom  this  chalice  of  suffer- 
ing is  given.  I  would  not  move  my  foot  with  the  view  of 
easing  my  pain/  This  I  heard  from  her  own  mouth, 
and  I  have  seen  her  marvellous  patience  with  my  own 
eyes." 

Yes,  suffering  increased    the  desire  in  her  for  greater 
sufferings.     Following  the  example  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen 
de  Pazzi,  she  said  :     "  Not  to  die,  but  to  suffer  still  more  for 
1  Gabriel,  p.  290,          2  Ibid,,  p.  289. 


314        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

Thy  sake,  and  from  love  of  Thee.  May  my  joy  be  increased 
by  suffering  and  love."  And  it  really  appeared  as  if, 
with  exterior  sufferings,  her  interior  joy  increased.  With 
a  smile  she  said  :  "  Oh,  these  torments  are  nothing  com- 
pared with  those  which  my  Beloved  suffered  for  me ; 
much  greater  ones  must  befall  me.  Increase  my  pain,  0 
God,  but  also  increase  my  patience  !"  Another  time  she 
addressed  the  following  words  to  her  Sisters  in  religion  : 
"  We  must  constantly  increase  in  perfection,  and  if  it 
pleases  God,  spend  our  whole  life  in  sighing  and  suffering, 
and  through  it  all,  love  Him  and  serve  Him  with  all  our 
might.  For  this  end  God  created  us."  When  Sister  Joa- 
chima,  who  was  closely  attached  to  her,  and  was  her  at- 
tendant, once  wept  with  compassion,  she  spoke  most  af- 
fectionately and  kindly  to  her  in  these  words  :  "  0  dear 
Sister,  shall  not  the  will  of  God  be  done  in  my  regard  ? 
We  should  not  weep  for  the  pains  which  my  most  amiable 
and  loving  God  sends  me,  but  return  Him  thanks  ;  I  am, 
indeed,  most  unworthy,  but  I  am  ready  to  suffer  as  much 
and  as  long  as  it  pleases  God  ;  it  would  be  scant  consola- 
tion to  me  were  I  to  die  without  pain." 

The  flame  of  desire  to  possess  God  burst  from  her  with 
a  mighty  force  and  made  her  exclaim,  in  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist :  "  Show  me,  0  Lord  !  Thy  countenance  and  I 
am  content,  for  my  soul  fainteth  within  me,  thirsting  after 
the  living  fountain  of  all  good.  Oh,  when  shall  I  come 
and  appear  before  the  face  of  the  Lord  ? "  This  desire 
was,  however,  entirely  controlled  by  God's  will,  for  she  said 
immediately  after  :  "As  God  wills,  what  God  wills,  and 
so  long  as  God  wills ;  if  I  can  only  accomplish  His  most 
holy  will,  I  desire  no  other  consolation  in  this  life."  A 
wondrous  spectacle  for  Heaven  and  earth  !  happy  soul, 
in  which  the  desire  to  possess  Christ  and  the  longing  with 
Christ  and  for  Christ  to  suffer,  balance  each  other,  so  that 
she  does  not  love  life  nor  fear  death,  a  soul  which  lived  and 
died  without  care  and  without  fear,  without  a  wish,  and 
without  resistance,  which  of  this  temporal  life  loved  only 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Ha£py  Death.    3 1 5 

the  pains,  and  of  the  life  eternal  sought  only  the  will  and 
the  possession  of  God. 

The  impression  which  such  sublime  virtue  made  on  all 
who  saw  her,  is  depicted  in  the  following  words  of  Sister 
Gabriel  : '  "In  every  sorrow  her  heart  remained  like  an 
immovable  rock  in  the  deep  ocean,  which  the  waves  may 
beat  against  but  never  stir ;  in  this  way  were  the 
heart  and  spirit  of  Crescentia  engaged.  The  more  her  body 
was  filled  with  pain,  the  more  unimpeded  were  her  heart 
and  spirit  in  soaring  upwards  to  their  happy  end,  and  in  her 
crippled  limbs  we  could  behold  an  upright  mind.  Within 
her  body  crushed  with  pain  we  saw  a  calm  soul,  so  that 
one  might  almost  fancy  two  persons  lived  in  Crescen- 
tia :  the  one  loving,  the  other  sickly  ;  the  one  exciting  ad- 
miration, the  other  moving  us  to  sorrow  and  compassion. 
She  looked  cheerfully  upon  herself,  and  from  her  sufferings 
took  occasion  to  descant  upon  the  divine  love,  so  that  her 
room  became  a  school  of  virtue,  and  her  sick-bed  a  pulpit, 
from  which  she  pointed  out  to  us  all  the  torments  under- 
gone by  the  crucified  Jesus.  For,  though  bound  to  the  bed 
in  body,  her  mind  was  unfettered  and  did  not  find  itself 
in  the  presence  of  sorrows,  but  kept  above  with  the  Beloved 
One,  in  such  a  manner,  that  she  drew  from  her  sufferings 
the  sweetest  balsam  for  her  soul,  while  she  was  at  the  same 
time  on  fire  with  the  love  of  God.  This  I  have  partly 
seen  with  my  own  eyes,  and  partly  gathered  from  her 
words  and  her  admirable  patience." 

Whilst,  even  with  good  people,  their  faults  and  imperfec- 
tions are  usually  shown  during  sickness,  if  severe,  the  sub- 
lime virtue  of  Crescentia  appeared  but  the  more  promi- 
nent in  its  depth  and  fulness  as  she  lay  on  her  couch  of 
suffering.  Her  humility,  self-contempt,  and  the  subjec- 
tion whereby  she  subjected  herself  to  every  other  creature 
displayed  themselves  in  a  most  touching  manner.  The 
feeling  that  she  was  the  poorest  of  beggars  and  the  great- 
est of  sinners  shone  through  her  whole  conduct  and  con- 

1  Gabriel,  p.  288. 


316       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

versation.  She  accepted  the  slightest  service  of  love  with 
the  greatest  gratitude,  and,  indeed,  considered  it  as  a  ben- 
efit squandered  on  one  utterly  unworthy  of  it.  She 
frequently  called  the  Sisters  together,  and  in  expressive, 
deeply-felt  words,  begged  for  pardon  on  account  of  the  bad 
example  she  said  she  had  given,  and  the  faults  she  had 
committed,  imploring  them  for  the  alms  of  prayer ;  all 
present  wept  bitterly.  Nay,  she  begged  with  real  earnest- 
ness that  after  death  her  head  might  not  be  adorned  with 
a  wreath  of  flowers,  as  was  customary,  but  with  one  of 
straw,  and  that  she  might  be  buried  in  the  manure  pile,  or 
in  some  spot  unknown  to  men.  She  practised  obedience 
up  to  her  last  moments,  first  towards  the  Sister-infirmari- 
an,  who  had  to  decide  even  what  position  she  should  take 
in  bed  ;  which,  without  doubt,  must  have  frequently  occa- 
sioned her  severe  pain  and  hardship,  on  account  of  her  many 
wounds.  Then,  she  wished  not  only  to  live  in  obedience, 
but  also,  after  the  example  of  Him  who  was  obedient  unto 
death,  to  die  in  and  by  obedience.  She  had  therefore  writ- 
ten to  the  Father  Provincial,  Rev.  Boniface  Schmidt,  to 
issue  the  order  of  obedience  to  die;  he  replied,  that  as  far  as 
it  lay  in  his  power,  he,  in  the  name  of  God  and  according  to 
His  will  and  ordinance, imposed  on  her  the  desired  obedience. 
The  spouse  of  the  Crucified  then  rejoiced  in  spirit  and 
praised  the  Lord  for  allowing  her  to  make  an  act  of  obe- 
dience even  with  the  last  breath.  She  also  begged  her 
confessor  that  when  she  should  be  in  her  last  agony,  he 
would  repeat  for  her  these  words  :  "0  God,  I  like  to  die, 
that  I  may  not  offend  Thee  any  more  !  0  God,  I  will  will- 
ingly die  out  of  love  to  Thee  !  0  God,  I  will  willingly 
die  from  the  obedience  which  I  owe  to  my  Creator  and  my 
Father  !  " 

Hope  in  God,  love  of  God,  and  union  in  prayer  with  Him 
were  uninterrupted  with  her,  for  which  reason  she  desired 
to  be  as  much  as  possible  alone  ;  she  accepted  no  visits, 
except  from  the  Sister-infirmarian  and  from  the  father 
confessor,  if  such  visits  were  made  to  afford  her  enmi'ort  or 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death.    3 1 7 

help,  as,  in  the  brief  time  left  her,  she  wished  to  love  God 
alone,  without  hindrance.  It  was  the  general  opinion  that 
it  was  the  extraordinary  fervor  of  her  love  which  brought 
her  blood  into  such  violent  commotion  that  during  the  last 
three  days  she  lost  what  strength  she  had  left  by  an  irre- 
pressible bleeding  of  the  nose. 

Difficult  as  it  was  to  her  to  talk,  she  nevertheless  re- 
ceived with  great  kindness  and  love  the  Sisters  who  wished 
to  see  her  and  to  speak  with  her  ;  she  gave  them  most 
beautiful  instructions,  in  words  full  of  sweetness  and  meek- 
ness. At  the  very  beginning  of  her  sickness  she  had  the 
younger  Sisters  summoned  to  her  bedside,  to  give  them 
one  more  instruction,  which  would  be  the  last.  The 
Sisters  shrank  from  the  expression  and  began  to  weep ; 
she  consoled  them,  and  exhorted  them  with  burning  words 
to  keep  the  Rule  faithfully,  and  to  sanctify  themselves  in 
religious  retirement,  in  unity  of  spirit,  and  in  the  chaste 
love  of  God.  Their  hearts  were  moved  to  their  depths  and 
copious  floods  of  tears  streamed  from  their  eyes.  After  the 
exhortation  she  told  each  one  privately  what  she  had  to 
do,  and  omit,  and  amend  ;  in  this  she  penetrated  each  one's 
conscience  so  thoroughly  and  spoke  with  such  force,  that 
her  words  made  an  impression  which  lasted  all  their  lives. 

After  some  weeks  the  sickness  reached  such  a  point  that 
frequent  symptoms  of  the  approach  of  death  appeared. 
Those  present,  however,  could  not  always  decide  whether 
the  fainting-fit  was  not  in  part  ecstasy.  When  she  came 
to  herself  again  she  assured  them  that  her  time  was  not 
yet  come.  On  the  27th  of  March,  the  Feast  of  the 
Seven  Dolors  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  the  Sisters  suf- 
fered great  anxiety,  for  such  a  long  state  of  unconscious- 
ness occurred,  that  they  feared  she  would  never  come 
out  of  it.  The  father  confessor,  whom  they  summoned 
in  all  haste,  also  thought  that  death  was  at  hand.  But 
after  recovering  herself,  she  assured  them  that  the  Saints, 
whom  she  had  often  asked  to  assist  her  at  the  hour  of 
death,  had  been  there,  and  had  promised  her  that  they 


318        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

would   come   again   when   she   was  really   about   to    die. 

On  the  thirteenth  day  before  her  death,  she  herself 
begged  the  father  confessor  to  administer  to  her  Extreme 
Unction  and  Holy  Communion  as  the  Viaticum.  She 
made  her  confession  under  a  flood  of  tears,  and  received 
the  sacraments  with  indescribable  devotion,  the  Sisters 
being  present.  Sister  M.  Gabriel '  says  :  "  One  hour  after 
receiving  the  sacraments,  she  penitently  accused  herself 
before  the  whole  community  of  having  led  a  careless  life  ; 
she  humbly  asked  pardon  of  each  Sister  individually  for 
her  culpable  life,  and  for  the  bad  example  she  had  given 
them,  as  also  for  the  burden  she  had  been  to  them,  and  the 
trouble  she  had  occasioned  them.  Moreover,  she  returned 
them  the  greatest  thanks  that  they  had  received  her  into 
the  Order,  in  which  she  had  never  done  anything  good, 
but  had  always  been  an  unprofitable  creature.  After  this, 
her  contrite  self-accusation,  she  gave  us  salutary  instruc- 
tions for  the  strict  observance  of  the  Eule  and  constitu- 
tion ;  of  religious  seclusion  and  mutual  charity ;  begged 
of  us  most  fervently  to  pray  for  her,  and  to  recommend 
her  soul  to  the  merciful  God.  And  all  this  she  did 
with  such  zeal  and  earnestness,  that  we  were  all  moved 
to  frequent  tears,  and  could  not  reply  in  words,  but  our 
silence  spoke  for  us,  and  was  answer  enough." 

From  the  time  of  this  solemn  act  the  double  desire,  ap- 
parently contradictory,  to  die,  and  to  live  longer  that  she 
might  suffer  more,  became  still  greater.  The  Sisters  often 
heard  her  sigh  :  "  0  Lord  !  if  it  is  Thy  most  holy  will,  give 
me  to  suffer  yet  more,  that  I  may  love  Thee  still  more." 
The  Lord  seemed  to  have  heard  this  petition.  On  Monday 
in  Holy  Week,  a  week  which  for  many  years  had  been  for 
her  one  of  real,  yet  wished-for  martyrdom,  the  pains,  which 
were  already  extraordinary,  began  to  increase  and  seemed 
to  grow  in  intensity  every  hour.  No  one  could,  without 
tears,  look  on  this  living  picture  of  the  Crucified,  or  rather 
on  this  pitiable  creature,  as  it  were  "  crucified  with  Christ." 

1  Gabriel,  p.  293. 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  DeatJi.    3  i  g 

The  pains  were  most  violent  in  the  head,  hands  and  feet. 
But  the  power  of  God  within  her  controlled  this  raging 
sea  of  suffering.  She  even  consoled  those  who  were  with 
her,  saying  :  "  My  dearest  Sisters,  return  thanks  to  God  for 
all  my  pains.  My  whole  joy,  my  whole  life,  and  all  my 
strength  consists,  in  suffering  and  in  love.  If  I  could  see 
myself  nailed  to  the  cross  with  Christ,  all  my  desires  would 
be  accomplished  ;  for  this  is  a  foretaste  of  eternal  happi- 
ness and  a  paradise  on  earth." 

During  the  last  three  days  of  Holy  Week  she  was,  for 
the  most  part,  in  an  ecstatic  state,  namely,  on  Holy  Thurs- 
day, after  Holy  Communion.  '  At  the  same  time,  it  was 
distinctly  noticed  that  a  very  fragrant  odor  proceeded 
from  her,  diffusing  itself  all  through  the  convent.  The 
Father  Provincial,  Boniface  Schmidt,  who  had  come  to 
visit  her  on  the  previous  Sunday,  found  her  in  the  evening 
still  in  a  profound  ecstasy.  However,  he  had  scarcely 
uttered  the  words,  "  Venerable  Mother  Crescentia,"  than 
this  child  of  obedience  at  once  recovered  consciousness,  and 
on  being  asked  where  she  had  been,  and  what  she  had  seen, 
she  replied  :  "  My  holy  guardian  angel  took  me  to  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  where  I  saw  my  Beloved  in  prayer,  and 
all  dripping  with  blood.  I  approached  Him,  adored  Him, 
and  offered  myself  to  suffer  everything  for  Him.  My  Be- 
loved said  :  '  My  child,  thou  shalt  suffer  and  rise  again 
with  Me/" 

On  Good  Friday  she  was  the  whole  day  beside  herself, 
and  looked  like  a  dying  person  ;  her  soul,  however,  accom- 
panied the  Saviour  through  all  the  mysteries  of  the  Passion 
till  it  came  to  the  Crucifixion;  then  she  recovered  herself. 
Her  confessor  asked  her  if  she  had  accompanied  the  Sav- 
iour to  the  Place  of  Skulls  (Calvary).  With  a  deep  sigh, 
she  replied  :  "  Oh,  what  is  that,  to  see  a  God  become  man, 
suffer,  and  die  !  I  should  have  died  with  Him  from  love 
and  compassion,  had  not  His  Omnipotence  upheld  me." 
She  added  many  other  sublime  expressions  concerning  the 

1  ott,  B.  iv.  c.  2. 


320     The  Life  of  Ven.   Mary  Crescentia. 

passion  and  love  of  the  Crucified  and  of  His  sorrowful 
Mother.  She  spent  the  whole  of  Holy  Saturday,  spiritual- 
ly and  ecstatically,  at  the  sepulchre  of  the  Redeemer. 
Easter  Sunday — it  was  the  fifth  of  April — was  to  be  the 
last  of  her  life  on  earth.  It  passed  in  love,  suffering, 
and  in  visions  of  heavenly  things ;  yet  when  the  Father 
Provincial  or  the  father  confessor  addressed  her,  she 
answered  them.  After  dinner  she  had  the  Sisters  once 
more  gather  around  her  ;  she  repeated,  in  few  but  earnest 
words,  her  former  ad  monitions  to  a  holy,  religious  life,  and 
emphatically  bade  them  carefully  avoid  unnecessary  inter- 
course with  outsiders,  whether  of  the  ecclesiastical  or  sec- 
ular state.  She  again  said  a  few  fitting  words  to  each  one 
of  them.  These  last  words  of  the  loving  and  now  dying 
Mother,  made  an  inexpressibly  deep,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  most  painful  impression. 

She  now  directed  her  whole  attention  to  God,  and  re- 
plied to  the  words  addressed  to  her  by  her  confessor  or 
Superior  only  by  signs.  In  the  evening  she  seemed  com- 
ing to  herself  out  of  an  ecstasy  and  asked  Sister  Joachima 
Kogl  what  o'clock  it  was  ;  when  the  Sister  answered  that 
it  had  just  struck  seven,  she  said  distinctly,  so  that  all 
could  hear  her:  "At  twelve  o'clock  I  shall  die."  Then 
she  again  forgave  all  her  enemies,  even  those  who  should 
speak  ill  of  her  after  her  death,  and  she  prayed  for  them  ; 
she  also  appointed  the  suffering  souls  in  purgatory  her 
heirs  to  all  the  holy  masses,  prayers,  and  works  of  penance 
f  which  should  be  offered  up  for  her  soul.  At  nine  o'clock 
she  lost  much  blood  by  nose  bleeding,  and  entered  into 
the  death  agony,  without,  however,  losing  her  conscious- 
ness. 

All  the  Sisters  hastened  to  the  room  of  the  dying 
Mother,  where  Father  Pamer  was  already  ;  the  Father  Pro- 
vincial and  his  secretary,  Father  Cesarius  Grueber,  came 
immediately.  She  lay  there  without  motion,  without 
making  the  least  sound,  her  eyes  directed  to  Heaven  or  to 
the  crucifix,  her  parched  mouth  half  open.  Whenever  the 


Her  Last  Sickness  and  Happy  Death.     321 

priests  uttered  pious  maxims  or  acts  of  virtue,  she  made  a 
sign  of  approval,  especially  when  the  usual  words  of  humil- 
ity were  said,  such  as  :  "I  am  a  mere  nothing,  a  miserable 
worm  of  the  earth. "  The  Father  Provincial  told  her,  that 
as  soon  as  she  was  in  the  Divine  Presence,  she  should  pray 
to  the  Holy  Trinity  for  the  welfare  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
of  Christian  princes,  of  religious  Orders,  especially  of  her 
own,  the  Seraphic  Order,  as  well  as  of  her  convent,  that  it 
might  shine  forth  as  a  light  to  other  convents,  by  good  ex- 
ample. She  gave  plain  signs  of  her  obedient  consent  to 
this.  The  hearts  of  the  Sisters  kneeling  round  her  bed 
were  almost  breaking  with  grief  and  compassion ;  it  was 
only  by  great  exertion  that  they  could  repress  themselves 
from  weeping  aloud.. 

The  father  confessor  now  remembered  that  she  had  often 
said  that  the  holy  archangel  Raphael  would  be  her  guide 
into  Heaven.  At  half -past  eleven  he  said  :  "  Venerable 
Mother,  the  archangel  Eaphael  will  probably  be  here 
soon."  She  answered  at  once  and  very  plainly  :  "He  is 
here  already."  Those  were  her  last  words  on  earth. 
Shortly  afterwards  she  opened  her  eyes,  of  which  one  already 
had  lost  the  sight,  and  threw  her  first  and  last  glance  on  her 
confessor,  as  if  to  take  leave  of  him.  At  this  glance,  his 
soul,  as  we  have  said  already,  was  so  filled  with  heavenly 
sweetness  that,  as  he  says  himself,  he  never,  either  before 
or  after,  had  experienced  the  like.  Then  she  closed  her 
chaste  eyes  to  the  light  of  earth. 

All  present  waited  with  strained  nerves,  in  excited  ex- 
pectation of  that  hour  of  twelve  which  she  had  foretold 
was  to  be  her  last.  She  lay  there  without  convulsions, 
without  jerking,  or  any  other  sign  betokening  that  the  soul 
was  about  to  leave  the  body.  Finally,  the  clock  in  the 
steeple  of  the  parochial  Church,  which  was  the  city  clock, 
struck  the  first  stroke  of  the  hour  of  twelve ;  at  that 
very  moment  she  breathed  her  last,  with  a  calm,  placid 
countenance,  without  any  movement  or  twitching  of  the 
features,  or  of  the  limbs. 


322        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent ia. 

Thus  did  this  angelically  pure  soul,  so  rich  in  graces, 
virtues,  and  merits,  leave  the  prison  of  the  body,  after  it 
had  sought  nothing  here  on  earth  save  to  be  like  the  Cruci- 
fied in  life  and  death  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that 
she  entered  as  a  pure  and  perfect  spouse  into  the  fulness 
of  divine  glory ;  for  at  the  very  moment  when  the  clock 
struck  and  the  soul  parted  from  her  body,  a  double  event 
took  place,  inexplicable  in  a  natural  way.  The  inordin- 
ately great  sorrow  experienced  by  her  fellow-Sisters  in  re- 
ligion gave  place,  in  an  instant,  to  a  heavenly  sweet- 
ness and  joy  in  such  abundance,  that  they  scarcely 
knew  how  to  contain  it  and  all  acknowledged  that 
they  had  never  felt  the  like  before.  In  the  canonical  pro- 
cess, five  of  those  who  had  been  present  bore  witness,  under 
oath,  to  this.  A  similar  inexplicable  joy  filled  the  hearts 
of  those  present  at  the  death  of  St.  Hose  of  Lima.  This 
occurrence  is  believed  with  reason  to  be  a  sign  that  the  de- 
parted soul  immediately  entered  into  bliss,  and  that  from 
the  ocean  of  her  own  unspeakable  happiness  she  was  per- 
mitted to  shed,  as  it  were,  some  drops  of  it  on  those 
whom  she  had  left  behind.  At  the  same  time  the  corpse 
she  had  left  exhaled  a  transcendently  penetrating,  sweetly 
fragrant  perfume,  which  filled  the  whole  convent.  The 
godly  virgin  died  thus,  in  the  last  minute  of  Easter  Sun- 
day, April  5,  1744,  aged  sixty-one  years,  five  months,  and 
fifteen  days,  of  which  she  had  spent  forty-one  in  the  con- 
vent. 

Look  back,  0  mortal  man,  on  this  noble  life  and  this 
precious  death,  and  pray  to  God  :     "  Let  my  soul  die  the 
death  of  the  just,  and  my  last  end  be  like  to  them." 
1  Numbers  zzlli.  10. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Remarkable  Occurrences  after  the  Death  of  Ven. 
Crescentia. — Her  Funeral.1 

|HEN  the  Sisters  had  recited  the  prayers  usually 
said  for  a  departed  Sister,  they  began  to  prepare  the 
corpse  of  the  servant  of  God  and  dress  it  for 
the  burial  in  the  customary  way.  They  were  all  as- 
tonished at  the  great,  the  marvellous  change  that  had 
suddenly  taken  place  in  it.  The  face,  which  had  previous- 
ly been  emaciated,  ashen-gray,  more  resembling  a  dead 
skeleton  than  a  living  being,  was  now  superlatively  beau- 
tiful, white  and  red  ;  the  lips,  formerly  dried  up,  were 
lovely  and  red  as  roses ;  she  was  like  a  blooming  virgin 
asleep.  When  they  raised  the  corpse  in  the  bed,  it  stood 
perfectly  upright  without  support,  while  in  the  last  days 
of  her  life  she  had  not  been  able  to  lift,  for  the  breadth  of 
a  finger,  her  head,  which  had  sunk  on  her  breast  from  weak- 
ness. They  then  seated  the  corpse  on  a  bench  and  there  al- 
so it  sat  upright,  without  support,  for  upwards  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  as  if  living  ;  no  one  could  account  for  it.  All 
the  limbs  were  tender  and  pliable  as  those  of  a  child. 
They  then  laid  the  corpse  again  on  the  bed. 

The  next  morning  early,  the  report  of  her  death  spread 
at  once  all  over  the  city,  and  Catholics  and  Protestants, 
ecclesiastics  and  seculars,  flocked  in  such  numbers  to  the 
convent  that  it  was  soon  overfilled.  At  first,  by  order  of 
the  Father  Provincial,  the  doors  of  the  church  and  convent 
were  closed,  but  the  impatient  crowd  made  preparations  to 
climb  the  walls  and  to  force  open  the  doors.  It  was 
then  deemed  necessary  to  permit  entrance.  The  room  in 
which  Crescentia  had  died  not  being  large  enough  to  con- 
tain the  number  of  visitors,  many  endeavored  to  satisfy 
their  pious  curiosity  by  climbing  on  the  shoulders  of  their 

1  Summ.  N.  24  8  25— Ott.  B.  IV.  C.  3  and  4.— Gabriel,  p.  295  et  seq. 


324        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

companions  and  looking  through  the  windows.  The 
Catholics  wanted,  by  all  means,  to  have  some  relic  of  the 
servant  of  God  from  the  things  she  had  used,  or  at  least  to 
touch  her  body  with  their  rosaries.  The  Father  Provincial 
would  not  permit  it  ;  nevertheless,  many  by  fraud  or  force 
obtained  their  wish.  The  many  Lutherans  present  also 
showed  every  respect  towards  the  departed  ;  and  it  was  a 
touching  sight  when  James  Metzger,  a  Protestant,  a  very 
aged  man,  who  for  more  than  fifty  years  had  lived  in  an 
apartment  of  her  father's  house,  and  had  known  and  val- 
ued her  from  childhood  upwards,  pressed  through  the 
crowd  and  said  with  many  tears:  "I  must  once  more 
visit  my  dear,  good  old  mistress.  Oh,  she  always  lived  a 
godly,  pious  life,  and  never  offended  any  one." 

Meantime  people  were  saying  on  all  sides:  "  What  lovely 
perfume  is  this  ?  it  refreshes  body  and  soul.  I  never  felt 
the  like  in  all  my  life ! "  This  wonderful  odor  of  sweetness, 
which  according  to  history  has  been  diffused  by  the  mor- 
tal remains  of  many  if  not  most  of  the  Saints,  was  in  this 
case  so  exquisite,  so  obvious  on  the  three  days  before  her 
interment,  that  the  hearts  of  all  present  were  filled  and  the 
eyes  of  many  were  bedewed  with  tears;  it  came  under  such 
general  notice  that  half  the  city  could  have  borne  testimony 
to  it.  No  natural  cause  could  be  discovered  for  it,  since 
there  were  no  perfumed  essences  of  any  kind  in  the  room. 
Among  the  testimonies  of  many  witnesses  we  adduce  only 
that  of  the  joiner,  Pancratius  Hiitter,  who  often  used  to  re- 
late that  when  he  brought  the  corpse  to  the  coffin,  a  lovely 
and  strong  odor  was  diffused  around,  such  as  he  had  never 
experienced  before,  and  such  as  he  could  not  even  describe, 
and  which  had  filled  his  soul  with  an  unwonted  pleasure. 
While  the  body  was  exposed,  three  remarkable  instances  of 
grace  occurred,  which  were  obviously  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
merits  of  her  who  lay  asleep  in  the  Lord. 

The  month  old  child  of  the  tanner,  Philip  James 
Meichelbeck,  of  Kaufbeuren,  had  come  into  the  world  with 
a  rupture,  in  respect  to  which  the  physicians  could  do 


Her  Funeral.  325 

nothing,  with  all  their  medical  means  and  appliances.  The 
child,  named  Joseph  Ignatius,  screamed  with  pain  day  and 
night,  and  was  Avithering  away.  The  sorrow-stricken 
father,  while  kneeling  by  the  corpse  of  Crescentia,  recom- 
mended his  child  to  her  intercession,  and  at  the  very  same 
moment  the  child  became  quiet  at  home;  every  trace  of  the 
rupture  had  disappeared,  the  boy  became  strong  and  robust, 
and  as  parish  priest  of  Kaufbeuren,  bore  witness  in  the 
canonical  process  '  that  he  had  innumerable  times  heard 
from  his  parents  the  benefit  which  Crescentia  had  be- 
stowed on  him. 

Mary  Theresa  Satzgar,  of  Kaufbeuren,  a  young  lady 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  had  for  many  years  been  troubled 
with  many  maladies  and  was  so  crippled  that  she  could 
scarcely  stand  on  her  feet.  The  doctors  could  do  nothing 
for  her.  "With  the  help  of  a  friend  she  succeeded  in  getting 
near  the  bier;  she  knelt  down  and  prayed  thus  with  great 
confidence:  "  My  Mother  Crescentia,  now  you  can  pray  to 
the  good  God  for  me,  that  He  may  give  me  a  sound  body, 
if  such  is  His  holy  will,  and  if  it  will  contribute  to  my  sal- 
vation. I  firmly  believe  that  Mother  Crescentia  is  now  in 
Heaven  and  can  obtain  anything  she  desires  from  God." 
Hardly  were  these  words  said  before  she  was  cured;  she 
praised  God  with  tears  and  ran  joyfully  back  to  that 
home  from  which  she  had  come  with  so  much  difficulty, 
and,  as  Father  Ott  expressed  it,  "  more  crawling  than  walk- 
ing." Every  one  could  convince  himself  that  she  after- 
wards remained  in  good  health. 

Appollonia  Metz  had  for  ten  years  suffered,  although  other- 
wise a  pious  person,  a  terrible  temptation,  which  almost 
reduced  her  to  despair.  In  fact  she  had  a  constant  feeling 
of  hatred  against  her  own  parents,  which  she  vainly  en- 
deavored to  control.  All  the  means  and  exercises  recom- 
mended to  her  had  not  weakened  the  temptation  in  the 
least.  When  she  heard  of  the  death  of  the  spouse  of  Christ, 
she  hastened  to  the  convent,  and,  full  of  confidence,  invoked 

1  Summ.  N.  24  %  375. 


326        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

her  intercession.  At  the  same  moment  the  temptation 
vanished  forever,  and  instead  of  this  deeply  rooted  bitter 
feeling,  a  very  tender  and  enduring  love  for  her  parents 
entered  her  heart. 

The  funeral  took  place  on  Wednesday,  April  8th.  The 
condition  of  the  corpse  was  in  no  way  changed  ;  the  same 
beauty  of  the  countenance,  the  same  flexibility  and  tender- 
ness of  the  limbs  and  of  the  flesh,  the  same  delicious  per- 
fume, only  in  a  higher  degree.  Early  in  the  morning,  at 
six  o'clock,  eight  Sisters  carried  the  mortal  remains  of  their 
much-loved  Mother  into  the  little  chapel  of  the  convent. 
All  pomp  was  avoided,  as  the  deceased  had  desired,  and  as 
the  spirit  of  her  Order  requires.  The  crucifix  alone  was 
carried  before  and  the  one  little  bell  of  the  convent  was 
rung;  the  doors  of  the  convent  and  the  church  were  kept 
closed,  and  but  few  were  present  when  the  Father  Provin- 
cial performed  the  customary  ceremonies  and  said  the 
prayers  of  the  Church. 

She  was  buried  in  the  centre  of  the  nave  of  the  little 
church;  the  grave  was  closed  the  same  day  and  covered  with 
pavement-brick  like  the  rest  of  the  floor.  Only  a  white 
stone  slab  bearing  the  initials  of  her  name,  with  a  cross  and 
the  date  of  the  year  was  placed  over  it.  It  was  not  till  the 
year  1771  that  this  pavement  of  brick  gave  place  to  another 
of  hewn  stone.  On  the  pillar  near  it,  which  supported  a 
small  arch,  an  inscription  was  placed:  "  Here  lies  buried 
Venerable  Mother  Crescentia  Hoss,  who  died  blessed  in  the 
Lord,  April  5th,  1744,  aged  62  years."  Immediately  after 
the  interment  the  Requiem  Mass  was  celebrated,  and  also 
on  the  following  days  the  Requiem  Masses,  customary  at  the 
death  of  a  Mother  Superior,  were  performed  in  the  convent 
as  well  as  in  the  parish  church. 

The  marvellous  odor  of  sweetness,  of  which  we  have  spok- 
en before,  continued  until  later  times,  nay,  has  not  altogether 
ceased  in  these  our  days.  Of  this  there  are  many  testi- 
monies, from  which  we  extract  some  from  the  Acts,  '  some 

1  Summ.  N.  24  0  380,  384. 


Her  Funeral.  327 

from  the  more  prolix  history  of  Father  Ott,  and  condense 
them  here  in  one  narrative.  All  the  articles  which  had 
been  used  by  the  Ven.  Crescentia,  especially  her  books,  in- 
struments of  penance,  and  many  rosaries  which  she  herself 
had  distributed,  diffused  this  marvellous  fragrance.  It  was 
particularly  discernible  in  three  places:  at  the  grave,  in  the 
room  of  the  Mother  Superioress,  on  the  first  floor,  where  she 
had  died,  and  in  that  cell  of  the  dormitory  which  she  had 
occupied  for  many  years,  and  which  is  even  now  kept  as 
a  sort  of  sanctuary  and  not  used. 

Besides  the  Sisters,  thousands  of  pilgrims  from  outside 
the  convent  walls,  have  borne  witness  to  this  remarkable 
phenomenon.  Among  these  are  many  Protestants  and  many 
persons  renowned  for  their  knowledge  and  erudition,  both 
in  the  ecclesiastical  and  secular  state.  Strangely  enough, 
some  persons  perceive  this  fragrant  odor  in  all  three  of 
these  places,  others  only  in  one  of  them,  while  their  com- 
panions do  not  perceive  it  here,  but  in  the  other  places. 
Often  it  has  been  noticed  by  a  whole  company,  and  then 
again,  by  only  one  of  them.  For  instance,  on  the  9th  and 
10th  of  March,  1775,  when  the  Princess  Antonia,  Electress 
of  Saxony,  with  her  numerous  retinae,  among  whom  were 
many  Protestants,  visited  the  Church  and  the  Convent,  all 
bore  witness  to  having  perceived  this  fragrant  odor. 

We  mention  among  many  others  who  were  witnesses  to 
this,  the  Cardinal  Von  Roth,  Prince-bishop  of  Constance, 
the  Bishop  of  Chur,  the  Abbot  Maurus  Xaverius  of  Plank- 
stetten,  O.S.B.,  of  saintly  memory,  whom  Ave  have  already 
mentioned,  who  testifies,  by  word  of  mouth  and  by  writing, 
that  although  from  his  infancy  and  upwards  he  had 
been  deprived  of  the  sense  of  smell,  he,  too,  had  perceived 
the  fragrant  odor  in  those  places  ;  moreover,  the  deacon  of 
the  Cathedral  at  Freisingen,  Baron  Von  Egger,  the  Count 
and  Countess  Von  Capris,  the  professor  of  canonical  rights 
at  •  Dillingen,  Joseph  George  Wanner,  the  professor  of 
mathematics  at  Innsbruck,  Ignatius  Weinhardt,  the  pro- 
fessor of  philosophy  at  Stil/burg,  Friclolin  Steiger,  the 


328        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescent 't'a. 

professor,  Francis  Scherer,  8.  J.,  and  Father  Cesarius 
(Jrueber,  O.S.F.,  the  Secretary  of  the  Provincial.  All 
these,  and  many  others  who  were  experts  in  perfumery, 
assert  that  this  scent  is  not  like  any  other  known  as  per- 
fumery. 

Father  Ott  relates  the  following,  respecting  his  own 
person  :  "I  acknowledge,  of  my  own  accord,  that  when, 
in  1760,  I  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  grave  of  Crescentia, 
in  company  with  Mr.  Andrew  Calligari,  a  merchant  of 
Augsburg,  and  with  Rev.  Ignatius  Bonschat,  preacher  at 
the  Church-institute  of  St.  Maurice,  I  did  not  find  a 
supernatural  odor  anywhere,  although  my  two  companions 
were  in  full  enjoyment  of  it.  But  when  I  came  there  in 
1770,  as  appointed  confessor,  I  perceived,  to  my  great  con- 
solation, an  extremely  pleasant,  and  to  me  unknown  smell, 
in  the  cell  and  the  room  ;  but  this  only  once,  or  at  most 
twice.  From  that  day  forward  I  perceived  nothing,  al- 
though I  often  entered  the  rooms  with  pilgrims  from  the 
nobility,  until  the  year  1774,  when  I  opened  the  cell  to 
Herr  Von  Funkner,  land-steward  to  Prince  Lichtenstein. 
I  then  with  much  pleasure  perceived  the  sweet  odor  of 
which  I  had  heard  so  much  for  the  past  four  years.  I, 
however,  enjoyed  this  unexpected  pleasure  but  a  few  min- 
utes, while  Herr  Von  Funkner  was  delighted  with  it  for 
almost  half  an  hour,  in  the  cell  as  well  as  in  the  room. 
The  same  thing  occurred  again  at  the  votive  tablets,  when 
I  was  least  expecting  it." 

The  Sisters  of  the  convent  assure  us  that  the  fragrant 
odor,  formerly  so  frequent,  is  even  now,  at  times,  per- 
ceived by  visitors  to  these  rooms.  But  frequently,  even 
now,  a  peculiarly  pleasant  odor  is  perceptible  from  her 
relics,  as,  for  example,  from  a  piece  of  her  linen.  This 
exteriorly  perceivable  fragrance  affords  a  proof  that  she 
bore  Christ  within  her,  during  her  life,  and  as  St.  Paul 
says,  "  manifested  the  odor  of  His  knowledge"1  by  .her 
words  and  deeds.  This  latter  every  Christian  ought  to 

>  II.  Cor.  11.  14. 


Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.  329 

do.  Endeavor,  then,  0  Christian  soul,  to  become  more 
and  more  "the  good  odor  of  Christ  unto  God,  in  them 
that  are  saved,  and  in  them  that  perish."  ' 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Surprising  Spread  of  the  Veneration  Paid  to  her.— 

Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.— Conversion  of 

many  Sinners." 

| OMB  voices,  indeed,  were  raised  against  the  uni- 
versal reputation  of  sanctity  of  this  great  ser- 
vant of  God;  some  persons,  either  from  ignorance 
or  from  worse  motives,  promulgated  calumniating  rumors 
respecting  her.  This  did  not,  however,  retard  in  any  de- 
gree the  incessant  progress  of  the  veneration  paid  to  her. 
The  spread,  continuance,  and  intensity  of  this  veneration, 
can  in  reason  only  be  ascribed  to  that  Divine  Providence 
which  loves  to  exalt  humble  souls,  and  to  render  glorious 
the  sepulchres  of  those  who,  during  life,  willingly  bore  the 
shame  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

The  Church,  as  such,  had  as  yet  done  nothing  in  her 
honor  ;  nay,  up  to  this  very  time '  it  is  not  permitted  to 
honor  her  publicly,  and  yet  the  Catholic  people  were  so  im- 
pressed with  love  and  devotion  to  the  godly  virgin,  that 
her  grave  soon  became  a  shrine,  the  most  frequented  by 
pilgrims  ;  indeed,  there  are  but  few  of  the  Saints,  even  of 
those  canonized  by  the  Church  in  the  last  centuries,  who 
have  been  equally  venerated.  Her  plain  and  simple  grave 
is,  by  the  universal  love  and  veneration  of  Christian  peo- 
ple, an  object  far  more  glorious  than  the  tombs  of  heroes 
embellished  by  the  most  splendid  monuments. 

1  II.  Cor.  11.  15.         '-'  Sumin.  N.  27.— Ott,  B.  IV.  C.  5.       3  May,  1885.— TRANSL. 


330        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

On  the  very  day  of  her  interment,  people  already  came 
in  crowds,  kissed  her  grave,  and  put  their  beads  and  pictures 
thereon,  to  keep  them  as  souvenirs  of  her.  Many  extra- 
ordinary things  were  told  of  prayers  at  her  grave  being 
heard,  in  which  her  intercession  was  implored  for  the  vari- 
ous needs  of  the  petitioners.  Already,  in  the  first  and 
second  years  after  her  death,  pilgrims  came  from  afar  off; 
some  to  seek  help  at  her  grave,  some  to  return  thanks  for 
favors  received.  Among  these  were  persons  of  the  highest 
distinction,  and  not  from  Bavaria  alone,  but  from  Bohemia, 
Hungary,  Tyrol,  and  other  Austrian  countries.  Many  who 
could  not  come  themselves  sent  votive  tablets  and  other 
gifts  to  express  their  gratitude  for  help  received.  From 
the  year  of  her  death  to  that  of  1779  more  than 
eighty  princely  persons  visited  her  grave.  From  1770  to 
1780,  Father  Ott  alone,  when  confessor  to  the  community, 
showed  thirty-four  gentleman  and  ladies  of  princely  rank 
through  the  convent,  as  he  himself  assures  us.  Most  of 
these  persons  had  undertaken  a  long  journey  for  the  pur- 
pose of  visiting  her  grave,  where  they  received  the  sacra- 
ments and  prayed  devoutly. 

In  the  first  place  we  have  here  to  mention  the  great  Em- 
press Maria  Theresa,  who  several  times  sent  precious 
gifts ;  the  Princess-elector  of  Saxony,  Maria  Antonia  ; 
Maximilian  Joseph,  Elector  of  Bavaria,  who,  with  his  wife, 
Maria  Anna,  visited  her  grave  and  the  convent  at  least  seven 
times  with  great  devotion.  Moreover,  the  Princes  of  Sig- 
mariugen-Hechingen,  the  Prince-elector  of  the  Palatinate, 
Charles  Theodore  (1761),  Prince  Louis  Eugene,  of  "Wurt- 
emburg,  who,  in  1773,  examined  everything  minutely,  re- 
ceived the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  in  1779  made  another 
pilgrimage  thither  in  company  of  his  wife.  Besides  this, 
he  frequently  wrote  to  the  Sisters  to  have  certain  affairs 
recommended  to  the  servant  of  God.  The  Margravine  of 
Baden-Baden,  Anna  Augusta,  sister  of  the  Prince-elector 
of  Bavaria,  was  at  least  three  times  there,  and  the  wife  of 
the  Emperor  Joseph  TT.  twice. 


Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.  331 

Among  the  higher  prelates  must  be  named  :  Cardinal 
Von  Both,  Bishop  of  Constance,  who  in  1770  knelt  an  en- 
tire hour  at  her  grave,  and  next  day  said  Mass  in  the  little 
church ;  the  Prince-elector  of  Treves  (1774),  the  Bishop 
of  Augsburg,  Joseph  of  Hesse-Darmstadt  (four  times),  the 
Bishops  of  Eatisbon,  Chur  (1774),  and  Freisingen;  Louis 
Joseph  of  Walden, — of  Chiemsee,  Grand-master  of  Wal- 
denburg  (five  times) ;  the  Prince- Abbot  of  Kemp- 
ten,  and  Honorius,  Baron  of  Schreckenstein,  who  visited 
her  grave  nearly  every  year.  Also  the  Coadjutor-bishop  of 
Paderborn,  Joseph  Francis  Von  Gondola ;  Bishop  Von 
Tempe  was  there  from  the  28th  to  the  30th  of  December, 
1761,  and  in  a  document  yet  extant,  dated  December  30, 
1761,  he  expresses  his  astonishment  at  all  the  wonderful 
things  he  had  seen,  heard,  and  read  there,  and  affirms  his 
conviction  that  after  canonical  investigation  by  the  Holy 
See,  Crescentia  will  be  accounted  worthy  to  be  numbered 
among  the  holy  virgins.  Besides  those  named  above,  it  is 
reported  that  from  April,  1744,  to  1749,  over  three  hun- 
dred barons,  counts,  and  prelates,  and  to  the  year  1779, 
even  as  many  as  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty  vis- 
ited the  grave  of  this  godly  virgin  and  often  with  tears  of 
devotion  kissed  the  stone  which  covered  her  grave,  and  the 
floor  of  her  cell. 

The  number  of  other  pilgrims,  not  a  few  of  whom  were 
priests,  scientists,  and  officers,  cannot  be  given  at  all.  They 
were  supposed  to  average  thirty  thousand  annually,  but 
since  the  opening  of  the  process  for  her  Beatification  the 
pilgrims  have  reached  at  least  double  that  number,  and 
in  the  year  1779  they  amounted  to  more  than  seventy 
thousand.  From  the  year  1772  to  1779,  the  num- 
ber of  pilgrims  was  put  down  as  far  as  it  could  be  done, 
and  it  was  found  that  at  least  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  persons  had  visited  Crescentia's  grave  for  the 
sake  of  devotion  within  that  space  of  time. 

The  convent  church,  formerly  so  lonesome,  was  now  filled 
with  devout  worshippers  from  early  morning  til]  late  in 


332        The  Life  of  Ven.  Alary  Crescentia. 

the  evening.  Formerly  it  was  seldom  that  any  other  Mass- 
es were  celebrated  besides  the  one  said  daily  ;  but  from 
1770  till  1780,  during  which  time  Father  Ott  was  appointed 
the  confessor,  there  were  at  least  three  thousand  said  every 
year,  the  most  of  which  were  at  the  request  of  some  one  or 
other  devout  person  and  offered  up  for  the  intention  of 
such  a  one. 

The  votive  tablets  and  commemorative  gifts  laid  on  her 
grave  can  hardly  be  counted.  Up  to  July  1,  1751,  there 
were  over  six  thousand,  though  for  the  most  part  made  on- 
ly of  wax.  In  obedience  to  the  papal  ordinance  these  were 
carried  out  of  the  church  and  preserved  in  twenty-two  cases 
made  for  that  purpose.  In  the  year  1779  the  votive  offer- 
ings made  of  silver  and  gold  numbered  nearly  three  thou- 
sand. The  images  of  wax,  painted  tablets,  crutches,  truss- 
es, needles  that  had  been  swallowed,  and  the  like,  which 
could  not  be  counted,  afford  a  plain  proof  that  many  per- 
sons had  firmly  believed  that  they  had  received  miraculous 
help  through  the  intercession  of  Ven.  Crescentia.  Several 
of  these  offerings  were  sent  from  Saxony,  Moravia,  Bohe- 
mia, Hungary,  Transylvania,  Switzerland,  and  Holland  ; 
from  Italy  and  even  from  Malta  and  Moscow.  Some  devo- 
tees offered  valuable  articles,  such  as  wedding  rings, 
rare  coins,  pearls,  precious  stones,  but  especially  ar- 
ticles for  the  church,  among  which  were  nine  chalices, 
twenty-three  costly  sets  of  vestments,  several  antipen- 
diums,  cruets  for  Mass  and  the  like.  The  Empress  Maria 
Theresa,  in  1772,  sent  a  vestment  embroidered  by  her  own 
hand,  and  Maria  Anna,  Princess-elector  of  Bavaria,  did  the 
same. 

That  she  was  also  venerated  in  North  Germany  may  be 
inferred  from  a  circular  issued  by  the  Prince-bishop  of 
Cologne,  Clement  Augustus,  who  was  also  Bishop  of  Pad- 
erborn,  Munster,  and  Hildesheim.  On  July  14,  1754,  he 
commissioned  his  Vicar-general  of  Paderborn  to  investigate 
officially  the  cures  which  were  reported  to  have  been 
wrought  by  invoking  the  intercession  of  Ven.  Crescentia. 


Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.  333 

Pilgrimages  to  her  shrine  (which  still  continue),  have 
been  made  for  one  hundred  and  thirty  years.  The  circum- 
stances of  the  age,  especially  that  of  closing  the  house  of 
the  Society  of  Jesus,  have  rendered  it  extremely  difficult 
to  find  father  confessors  for  the  numbers  of  pilgrims;  this 
has  diminished  the  concourse  somewhat;  nevertheless,  the 
annual  number  is  still  very  large  and  has  in  late  years 
again  been  on  the  increase.  Instead  of  the  votive  offerings 
Avhich  had  been  carried  away  at  the  suppression  of  the  con- 
vent, new  ones  have  been  brought  in  numbers  scarcely 
credible  in  this  very  century.  The  cases  set  up  in  the 
court-yard  are  again  filled  with  many  thousands  of  thank- 
offerings  for  deliverance  from  temporal  afflictions,  mostly 
of  sickness. 

But  what  is  most  to  be  prized  in  the  whole  matter,  is  the 
conversion  of  so  many  sinners  which  occurred  at  her  grave. 
If  the  conversion  of  a  hardened  sinner  is,  as  many  of  the 
Fathers  tell  us,  a  greater  work  than  raising  the  dead  to  life, 
then  the  little  convent  church,  which  Crescentia  hallowed 
by  forty  years'  prayer  and  by  her  mortal  remains,  is  a  place 
of  special  grace  in  which  God  works  many  miracles.  Of 
course,  individual  cases  of  conversion  can  scarcely  be 
brought  under  public  discussion  ;  and  therefore  the  gener- 
al expressions  of  Father  Ott,  which  we  give  in  a  condensed 
form,  must  suffice  us.  He  says  :  "  Father  John  Baptist 
Pamer,  who  was  for  twenty-five  years  confessor  to  the  con- 
vent of  Mayrhoff,  after  the  death  of  Crescentia,  and  who 
heard  many  thousands  of  pilgrims'  confessions  and  received 
many  communications  from  them  outside  the  confessional, 
assures  us  that  the  benefits  which  God  bestowed  on  souls, 
through  the  intercession  of  Crescentia,  are  much  greater 
and  more  numerous  than  those  which  affected  bodily  health. 
I,  too,  holding  that  same  office  now  for  ten  years,  perfectly 
agree  with  him  in  this.  At  her  grave  many  and  astound- 
ing conversions  of  the  greatest  sinners  have  occurred,  even 
of  such  as  had  long  ago  given  themselves  up  to  despair, 
who  had  signed  deeds  with  their  own  blood?  making  them- 


334        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

selves  over  to  the  devil,  who  hud  in  imheard-of  ways  heaped 
.sin  upon  sin.  I  could,  without  violating  the  seal  of  con- 
fession, bring  forward  many  examples  of  this  :  many  per- 
sons have  by  word  of  mouth  and  in  writing  attested  that 
they  came  from  a  distance  in  order  at  length  to  make  a 
good  confession  with  compunction,  which  they  succeeded 
in  doing.  Others,  who  were  hardened  sinners,  felt  at  her 
grave  an  irresistible  impulse  to  penance,  so  that,  after 
making  a  good  confession,  they  left  quite  consoled.  Sever- 
al who  even  here  had  not  made  a  good  confession,  had, 
while  returning  home,  such  remorse  of  conscience,  that 
they  came  back  again,  when  already  far  on  their  way,  and 
made  a  sincere  confession  with  great  compunction  of  heart. 
One  person  who  had  a  strong  impulse  to  confess  some  long- 
concealed  sins,  at  length,  after  a  long  struggle  with  herself, 
yielded  to  the  devil  and  was  about  to  leave  the  church 
without  confession,  when  she  was  held  back  by  an  invisible 
power  at  the  threshold  of  the  church-door.  She  attempted 
with  all  her  might  to  get  away,  but  in  vain.  Terrified 
and  contrite,  she  finally  humbled  herself,  made  a  good  con- 
fession, and  then  went  home  without  further  hindrance  and 
full  of  consolation.  Sinners  who  for  many  years  had  been 
fettered  by  evil  habits,  and  had  despaired  of  being  able  to 
amend,  here  cast  off  their  chains  and  became  good  Chris- 
tians. Such  as  were  severely  tempted,  especially  against 
purity,  here  received  peace  and  strength  ;  those  tormented 
by  scruples  and  melancholy,  even  to  the  extent  of  incipient 
insanity,  here  found  a  calmness  and  peace  of  mind  ;  among 
these  was  one  person  who  had  suffered  unutterable  things 
for  seven  years  and  could  find  no  help  anywhere." 

A  widow  of  good  family  had,  through  great  misfortunes, 
fallen  into  extreme  want,  and  was  even  driven  from  her 
home.  Urged  thereto  by  a  sensation  of  black  despair,  she 
sought  a  place  by  the  river-side,  where  the  banks  were  high, 
that  she  might  find  death  in  the  water.  She  attempted 
the  fatal  plunge,  and  was  already  hanging  with  the  great- 
est part  of  her  body  above  the  water,  when  an  invisible  hand 


Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.  335 

drew  her  back.  Startled,  she  looked  back  and  beheld  a 
Sister,  who  immediately  after  vanished.  She  thought  it 
might  be  Crescentia,  whom  in  her  misery  she  had  in- 
voked. She  now  felt  penitent,  and  obtained  the  grace  of 
making  a  good  confession  in  a  neighboring  convent.  She 
also  promised  to  make  a  prilgrimage  to  the  grave  of  her 
redeinptress.  After  that,  her  affairs  took  a  better  turn,  so 
that  she  obtained  a  home  and  means  of  support.  To  give 
thanks,  she  often  went  to  Kaufbeuren  and  sounded  the 
praises  of  her  who  had  saved  her  from  temporal  and  eter- 
nal death. 

We  think  we  cannot  here  omit  the  conversion  of  a  crimi- 
nal who,  it  would  seem,  belonged  to  the  higher  classes  ;  his 
name  was  Stephen  Weinrauch,  and  he  was  executed  at 
Oberndorf,  September  14,  1754.  We  select  only  the  prin- 
cipal details  taken  from  the  more  copious  reports  of  con- 
temporary writers — one  by  Kev.  John  Kogl,  parish  priest 
of  Oberndorf,  dated  October  16,  1754,  the  other  by  Mother 
Joachim  Kogl,  already  mentioned,  dated  October  27,  of  the 
same  year,  and  signed  by  eight  Sisters.  Both  documents 
are  still  in  the  convent  of  Mayrhoff.  This  criminal  had 
a  little  daughter,  called  Frederica,  who  was  little  more 
than  three  years  old  when  her  father  was  arrested,  but  yet 
she  entertained  a  love  and  devotion  to  Crescentia,  which 
were  quite  inexplicable  at  her  age.  At  the  very  moment 
that  her  father  was  summoned  from  the  house  to  be  con- 
veyed to  the  prison,  the  child  fell  down  stairs  and  lay  as  if 
dead  on  the  floor.  The  frightened  mother  invoked  Ven. 
Crescentia  and  the  child  came  to  her  senses.  The  first 
words  she  said  were  :  "0  mother,  I  fell  down-stairs,  but 
Crescentia  helped  me,  she  was  here  already."  The  child, 
who  was  seriously  hurt,  lived  three  weeks  longer,  during 
which  time  she  always  wanted  to  have  a  rosary  and  a 
picture  of  Crescentia  by  her,  and  prayed  diligently  for  her 
imprisoned  father ;  then  she  would  frequently  say  : 
"  Father  is  not  coming  home  again  ;  he  will  die  and  go  to 
Crescentia,  and  I  shall  die  to,  and  go  to  her."  Three 


336        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

hours  before  her  death,  the  little  one  begged  her  mother 
to  remove  the  curtains  from  her  bed,  that  Crescentia  might 
come  to  her  ;  she  pointed  with  her  finger  up  to  where 
Crescentia  was,  and  died  joyful,  pressing  her  beads  and  the 
picture  of  the  servant  of  God  to  her  heart. 

There  were  many  reasons  for  doubting  whether  the 
father  would  he  converted;  but  immediately  after  sentence 
had  been  passed  on  him,  he  requested  Father  Parner  to 
come  to  his  spiritual  assistance,  and  that  simply  because  he 
had  been  Crescentia's  last  confessor.  On  September  12th 
he  made  a  very  contrite  general  confession.  Afterwards, 
in  the  presence  of  many  persons,  he  repeatedly  asserted 
that,  next  to  God,  he  was  indebted  to  Ven.  Crescentia  for 
the  grace  of  his  conversion.  On  the  day  of  his  execution 
he  held  in  his  hands  a  crucifix  and  a  picture  of  the  Saviour 
carrying  His  cross,  both  of  which  had  belonged  to  Crescen- 
tia, and  he  manifested  extraordinary  compunction  and 
firmness.  With  touching  words  which  brought  tears  to  the 
eyes  of  the  thousands  of  spectators  present,  he  begged  for- 
giveness of  every  one ;  he  then  ascended  the  scaffold  and 
died  so  edifying  a  death,  that,  as  the  assisting  priest  ex- 
presses himself,  "  Every  one  acknowledged  that  they  had 
never  witnessed  such  nobleness  at  an  execution,  or  one 
which  brought  with  it  such  good  results/' 

That  the  influence  of  the  servant  of  God  must  have  been 
very  great  is  confirmed  by  a  miraculous  event  which  hap- 
pened at  the  very  time  of  the  execution,  in  the  convent  of 
Kaufbeuren,  and  is  reported  in  the  above-named  document. 
When  the  Sisters  at  the  appointed  hour  were  praying  most 
fervently  for  the  poor  criminal,  by  making  the  stations  of  the 
cross,  the  portrait  of  Crescentia,  which,  as  we  have  said,  the 
artist  had  painted  against  her  will,  among  the  weeping  wo- 
men of  the  eighth  station,  suddenly  underwent  a  change. 
"The  countenance,"  so  runs  the  report,  "became  very 
beautiful,  rosy-red,  and  so  lovely  and  gracious,  as  we  had 
but  seldom  seen  this  dear  Superioress  and  Mother,  when  in 
life  in  the  convent,  and  then  only  in  extraordinary  cases. 


Pilgrimages  to  her  Grave.  337 

This  stayed  so  nearly  an  hour,  till  by  degrees  the  bloom  fad- 
ed away  and  the  picture  resumed  its  ordinary  appearance. 
We  wept  in  joy  and  wonder,  and  conjectured  from  the 
marvellously  beautiful  redness  and  loveliness  of  the  coun- 
tenance that  all  was  well  with  Mr.  Weinrauch.  Eespecting 
the  eyes  of  that  picture,  the  following  happened  at  that 
time  :  Both  eyes  became  very  red  and  swollen,  as  is  the 
case  when  a  person  has  been  crying  very  hard.  In  the  left 
eye  were  two  tears,  one  entire  and  full,  the  other  was  flow- 
ing down.  The  full  and  entire  one  hung  on  the  cheek 
pretty  low  down  towards  the  nose,  and  one  could  clearly  see 
the  wet  streak  from  the  right  corner  of  the  eye  connecting 
it  with  the  tear-drop.  The  other  opposite  tear  was  diffused 
over  the  cheek,  yet  we  saw  the  wet  streak  from  the  left  cor- 
ner of  the  left  eye,  far  down  the  cheek.  These  wet  streaks 
and  tears  remained  on  the  face  of  the  picture  from  eight 
o'clock  till  eleven  in  the  forenoon. 

"  To  this  we  bear  witness  by  putting  thereto  our  own  hands 
and  the  seal  of  our  convent,  Kaufbeuren,  in  the  convent  of 
St.  Francis,  Mayrhoff ,  of  the  Third  Order  of  the  holy 
Father  Francis,  the  27th  of  October,  1754."  (Here  follow 
the  signatures  of  the  Superioress  and  of  eight  Sisters). 

The  Venerable  spouse  of  Christ  had,  during  her  life, 
not  sought  for  honor  before  men,  but  for  humiliation  and 
contempt.  But  now,  we  may  safely  assume,  she  has  found 
not  only  eternal  glory,  but  what  she  did  not  seek  at  all,  the 
greatest  honor  before  men.  "  They  that  sow  in  tears,  shall 
reap  in  joy.  Going,  they  went  and  wept,  casting  their 
seeds,  but  coming  they  shall  come  with  joyfulness,  carrying 
their  sheaves." ' 

1  Ps.  cxxv.  5-7. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Selection  of  Miracles.1 

|  HE  number  of  prayers  granted  more  or  less  mir- 
aculously to  those  who  venerated  the  servant  of 
God,  and  the  granting  of  which  is  ascribed  to  her 
intercessory  merits,  is  astonishingly  great.  When  the  Or- 
el inariate  of  Augsburg,  between  the  years  1770  and  1780,  is- 
sued a  mandate  that  reports  of  such  favors  and  graces  as 
were  considered  miraculous  should  be  sent  to  them,  they 
were  sent  in  by  thousands.  But  as  these,  for  the  most  part, 
either  from  defective  form,  or  on  account  of  the  subject-mat- 
ter, were  of  no  value  in  regard  to  the  Beatification,  the 
Coadjutor-bishop  of  Augsburg  petitioned  the  Sacred  Con- 
gregation of  Rites"  to  be  permitted  to  burn  this  pile  of  pa- 
pers and  it  was  probably  done.  Father  Ott,  too,  speaks  of 
these  reports  as  sent  in  by  thousands,  but  is  of  opinion  that 
scarcely  the  half  of  the  prayers  that  had  been  really  granted 
were  written  down.  Several  hundred  were  kept  in  the  con- 
vent. In  the  one  year  of  1779  there  had  been  two  hundred 
and  thirty  such  cases  of  prayer  reported  as  granted  there  ; 
these  occurred  either  simply  at  the  invocation  of  Crescen- 
tia,  or  by  using  her  relics,  beads,  or  other  blessed  articles. 
He  also  relates  that  Herr  von  Hautzenstein,  Privy-counsel- 
lor of  Franken,  had  received  one  hundred  and  eighty  testi- 
monials in  two  years  and  a  half,  within  a  district  of  but 
few  miles  in  diameter,  many  of  which  seemed  to  record  true 
miracles.  A  whole  volume  would  be  filled  were  we  to  print 
all  the  cases  which  are  of  importance.  We  restrict  our- 
selves, therefore,  to  some  few  of  the  most  weighty  of  those 
related  in  the  Acts,  and  out  of  the  many  hundred  related 
elsewhere,  we  select  only  a  few. 

Over  thirty  miracles  are  enumerated  in  those  Acts,  eight 
of  which  were  carefully  investigated,  by  examining  many 

1  Acta  super  fama  sanctitatis,  Romae,  1787.          *  Summ.  N.  27  9  1-38. 


Selection  of  Miracles.  339 

witnesses,  in  order  to  make  use  of  them  at  the  process  of 
the  Beatification.  In  a  condensed  form  they  are  contained 
in  the  Summarium,1  to  which  we  add  some  circumstances 
from  the  more  copious  report  of  Father  Ott. 

Mary  Francis  Prix,  the  daughter  of  a  doctor  at  Otto- 
beuren,  suffered  for  thirteen  years  from  a  tear-running  fis- 
tula of  a  very  malignant  character,  which  had  such  a  pun- 
gent and  bad- smelling  odor,  that  no  one  could  bear  to  come 
near  her.  The  wound  was  accompanied  by  violent  fever, 
and  took  the  form  of  cancer.  Her  brother,  who  was  a 
physician  at  Eschingen,  sent  her  to  John  Michael  Endres, 
a  surgeon  at  Ottobeuren,  for  him  to  perform  an  operation 
upon  her.  Herr  Endres  agreed  that  the  operation  was 
necessary,  but  stated  at  the  same  time  that  the  loss  of  the 
eye  would  be  the  almost  inevitable  result.  The  sick  girl, 
in  her  great  distress,  made  a  vow  in  January,  1773,  to  send 
a  silver  eye  to  the  grave  of  Crescentia  ;  she  then  invoked  her 
aid  in  all  confidence,  and  then,  without  the  use  of  any 
other  remedy,  in  a  very  short  time  the  wound  and  the  fis- 
tula healed,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  physicians. 

Mrs.  Magdalen  Kollman,  formerly  proprietress  of  the 
Hunter  House  at  Augsburg,  later  on  residing  as  a  widow  in 
Pengen,  had  for  ten  years  suffered  from  an  abscess  in  the 
breast,  which,  though  it  constantly  increased,  she  concealed 
from  everybody,  until,  in  1764,  the  unbearable  pain 
compelled  her  to  consult  the  celebrated  Doctor  Jacob 
Appin,  of  Kaufbeuren.  He  explained  to  her  immediately 
that  the  malady  was  a  cancer  far  advanced,  and  that  the 
only  hope  of  a  cure  was  in  having  an  operation  performed. 
The  frightened  woman  betook  herself  at  once  to  the  grave 
of  Crescentia,  invoked  her  intercession,  and  immediately 
the  sharp  and  harrowing  pain  ceased.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing the  s-urgeon  found  no  trace  remaining  of  the  appalling 
disease  ;  he  himself  bore  witness  on  oath  to  this  wonderful 
cure. 

Mary  Josephine,  a  year  and  a  half  old,  daughter  of  James 

1  N.  'J7,  §  1-8. 


340        The  Life  of  Vcn.  Mary  Crescentia 

Herterich,  of  Heimenogg,  had,  in  the  year  1770,  a  severe 
fall,  by  which  she  injured  or  rather  broke  her  spine, 
so  that  her  back  was  raised  the  width  of  two  hands. 
The  child  screamed  day  and  night  and  could  neither  sit  up 
nor  lie  down.  The  parents  commended  their  little  daughter 
to  Crescentia's  care,  promised  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  her 
grave,  laid  her  picture  on  the  injured  back,  and  gave  the 
child  some  water  which  had  been  poured  over  a  rosary  of 
Crescentia's.  All  at  once  the  pains  ceased,  the  swelling 
subsided,  the  spine  resumed  its  normal  state,  and  the  child 
could  come  and  go  at  its  pleasure.  When  grown  up,  Mary 
Josephine  visited  the  grave  of  her  benefactress  every  year. 
Seventeen  witnesses  swore  to  this  fact. 

Maria  Anna  Oegg,  of  Nassenbeuren,  county  of  Mindel- 
heim,  sixty-five  years  old,  had  for  thirteen  years  suffered 
from  a  dangerous  rupture  which  caused  her  great  pain  and 
twice  endangered  her  life,  which  both  times  was  saved  by  the 
skill  of  the  surgeon,  Charles  Andrew  Hauser.  On  the  21st 
of  February,  1772,  the  malady  returned  in  a  worse  form, 
so  that  the  bowels  protruded  (hernia  incarcerata).  The 
surgeon  found  her  almost  in  a  dying  state  and  ordered 
the  last  sacraments  to  be  administered  to  her.  All 
his  endeavors  were  baffled  for  five  days;  a  fearful  fever,  ter- 
rible vomiting,  and  inflammation  of  the  bowels  indicated  the 
approach  of  death  ;  the  surgeon  lost  all  hope  and  left  her. 
On  February  29th,  the  sick  woman  sent  her  son  again 
for  Mr.  Hauser,  the  surgeon,  as  she  could  not  stand  the 
pains  ;  he  refused  to  go,  as  he  could  not  help  her  any  more. 
His  wife,  however,  said  to  the  son  :  "  Boy,  has  your  mother 
no  confidence  in  dear  Crescentia  ?  she  has  helped  so  many 
who  have  called  on  her.  I  will  give  you  something  from 
her."  She  gave  him  some  "Crescentia  powder,"  made 
from  the  leaves  of  the  tree  mentioned  already.  The  dying 
woman  took  this  powder,  and  immediately  the  vomiting 
and  fever  ceased,  the  bowels  went  back  to  their  place  of 
themselves ;  she  slept  quietly  through  the  whole  night  ; 
the  next  day  the  swelling  had  disappeared  and  the  woman 


Selection  of  Miracles.  341 

was  in  perfect  health.  Fourteen  witnesses,  among  whom 
were  the  surgeon,  the  sick  woman,  and  her  husband,  swore 
to  the  whole  transaction. 

Ursula  Schmid,  of  Langenfeld,  had  both  feet  frozen  and 
so  covered  with  wounds  that  the  doctor  thought  it  would 
be  necessary  to  amputate  them.  Full  of  confidence  in 
Crescentia,  she  tied  a  rosary  of  the  servant  of  God  around 
the  right  foot  :  the  next  morning  it  was  entirely  well. 
With  still  greater  confidence  and  with  the  same  success 
she  repeated  the  act  on  the  left  foot.  Five  witnesses 
swore  to  the  event. 

Elizabeth  Russ,  a  young  girl  aged  nineteen,  of  Wasser- 
los,  in  the  arch-diocese  of  Mayence,  in  1774  suffered  so 
severely  from  diseased  limbs  that  her  whole  body  became 
swollen  :  she  had  already  received  the  last  Sacraments,  and 
three  hours  afterwards  appeared  to  be  in  the  agony  of 
death.  The  mother  of  the  dying  girl,  in  her  extreme  dis- 
tress, sent  to  the  kind  and  friendly  Prince  Louis  Eugene,  of 
Wiirtemburg,  who  was  then  staying  at  Wasserlos  and  who 
had  lately  been  to  Kauf  beuren,  whence  he  had  brought 
some  relics  of  the  Ven.  Crescentia.  The  prince  felt  im- 
pelled to  make  use  of  them  in  this  case,  and  went  person- 
ally to  visit  the  sick  girl,  whom  he  found  even  in  a  worse 
condition  than  had  been  represented  to  him.  He  saw 
clearly  enough  that  it  was  a  case  in  which  God  alone 
could  help,  and  he  exhorted  the  dying  girl  to  trust  in  the 
Almighty  power  of  God  and  in  the  intercession  of  Crescen- 
tia. He  waited  awhile  till  she  seemed  really  to  be  passing 
away,  when  he  gave  her  a  little  of  the  so-called  ' '  Crescentia 
water"  and  a  small  piece  of  her  habit.  Immediately 
the  pains  diminished  and  the  swelling  subsided  :  as  the 
prince  touched  the  greatly  swollen  arms  and  feet  with  the 
piece  of  cloth,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  beholders, 
the  swelling  visibly  went  down  and  the  pains  vanished  ; 
the  distorted  face  resumed  its  wonted  aspect,  "  quicker 
than  thought,"  to  use  the  prince's  own  expression  of  the 
occurrence.  The  whole  sickness  was  from  that  time  forth 


342        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

thoroughly  cured.  The  noble  prince  himself,  and  eight 
other  witnesses,  among  whom  was  Margaret  Glaser,  a  Pro- 
testant lady,  have  sworn  to  the  truth  of  this  miracle. 

Sister  Mary  Sophia,  of  Bodonan,  '  in  the  convent  of  the 
Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  at  Meckingen,  in  the  diocese  of 
Constance,  had  been  ailing  for  four  years  with  a  kind  of 
dropsy  called  tympanites.  The  help  of  the  ablest  doctors 
had  brought  periodical  relief  ;  but  in  December,  1770,  the 
disease  broke  out  with  renewed  vigor,  no  remedy  had  any 
effect,  and  Dr.  Flacho,  then  a  renowned  practitioner  and 
physician  to  the  prince,  gave  her  up.  In  the  night 
of  the  llth  of  January,  1771,  alarming  indications  of 
death  made  their  appearance.  When  her  confessor,  Jo- 
achim Mayer,  visited  her  the  next  morning,  she  asked  per- 
mission to  put  away  all  medicines,  since  the  physician  had 
lost  hope,  and  instead  of  them  to  invoke  the  intercession 
of  the  Ven.  Crescentia,  and  take  some  of  her  powder.  The 
father  confessor  assented,  on  the  express  condition  that  she 
should  pray  for  her  recovery  only  if  it  were  conducive  to 
God's  honor  and  her  own  salvation.  After  ten  o'clock  he 
left  the  sick  Sister  in  the  same  hopeless  condition  ;  she  then 
took  the  powder,  amid  prayers,  and  soon  experienced  the  de- 
sire to  eat  something,  although  for  several  years  she  had  had 
a  loathing  for  food.  After  she  had  eaten  and  drunk  some- 
thing, she  attempted,  with  the  help  of  her  two  attendants, 
to  rise  from  her  chair.  Suddenly  she  felt  within  her  such 
a  return  of  vigor,  that  she  threw  aside  her  staff,  and  when 
the  Sisters  came  to  visit  her  after  dinner,  she  went  all  alone 
to  meet  them,  to  their  joy  and  surprise.  They  sent  in  all 
haste  to  the  father  confessor,  who  came  at  once,  to  assist 
her,  as  he  thought,  in  her  death-struggle.  Speechless  with 
fear,  he  stood  rooted  to  the  ground,  when  he  beheld  her 
whom  two  hours  before  he  had  left  lying  motionless  in  her 
chair  advance  joyfully  to  greet  him.  Tears  of  joy  streamed 
from  his  eyes;  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  he  regained 
his  composure,  and  then  he  wished  immediately  to  return 

>  L.  cit.  8  7,  and  Ott. 


Selection  of  Miracles.  343 

tha"nks  to  God  by  chanting  the  Te  Deum.  The  cured  Sis- 
ter first  put  on  other  clothing  and  then  hastened  down 
stairs,  ahead  of  them  all,  to  the  Church.  She  sang 
the  Te  Deum  along  with  them,  and  so  energetically  that  her 
voice  overpowered  those  of  the  other  Sisters.  It  was 
afterwards  noticed  that  the  large  swelling,  which  had  been 
as  hard  as  a  stone,  had  disappeared,  and  what  was  very  re- 
markable, without  any  effusion.  The  cure  was  so  com- 
plete that  she  could  attend  all  the  exercises  of  the  convent 
without  experiencing  the  least  trace  of  her  former  malady. 
When  Father  Ott  wrote  down  this  report  she  was  Superior- 
ess of  the  convent.  Dr.  Flacho  and  Dr.  Joseph  Con- 
rad of  Wogan,  physician  to  the  Prince-abbot  Von  Kemp- 
ten,  both  bear  witness  that  this  sudden  cure  surpassed 
all  the  powers  of  nature. 

John  George  Frei,  a  farmer  of  Schwabishofen,  about  six 
miles  from  Kaufbeuren,  suffered  for  six  years  from  a  se- 
vere rupture,  with  frequent  protrusions  of  the  bowels.  His 
doctor,  the  renowned  surgeon,  John  Dumas  Velder,  a  spec- 
ialist in  this  branch,  declared  that  only  an  operation  could 
cure  him.  The  sick  man  had  recourse  to  Crescentia,  and 
promised  a  votive  offering  at  her  grave.  As  he  was  hear- 
ing Mass  there,  he  felt  himself  all  at  once  perfectly  healed, 
neither  could  the  surgeon  discover  that  any  trace  of  the 
malady  was  left ;  and  ten  years  later,  when  he  had  to  bear 
testimony  to  his  own  cure  during  the  apostolic  investiga- 
tion, he  was  still  perfectly  sound  and  healthy.  The  sur- 
geon, and  the  wife  and  relatives  of  the  cured  farmer  swore 
to  the  truth  of  this  miracle.1 

Other  miracles  mentioned  in  the  Acts  of  her  Beatifica- 
tion we  pass  over  on  account  of  their  length.  The  fol- 
lowing miracle  is  not  contained  in  the  Acts  but  it  was 
officially  investigated  by  a  commission  appointed  by  the 
Prince-bishop  of  Eichstadt,  Eaymond  Anthony ;  the 
protocol  or  register  of  this  commission  is  still  preserved 

1  The   translator  follows,  for  the  rest  of  this  chapter,  the  abbreviated  second 
edition. 


344        The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

among  the  episcopal  archives.1  Father  Ott,  too,  relates 
this  case  at  full  length  ;  we  are  content  to  give  a  condensed 
account  of  it: 

Frances  Magdalena  Oberhofer,  born  at  Straubing  in  1711, 
and  since  1730  a  professed  Sister  in  the  convent  of  the 
east  suburb  of  Eichstadt,  was  always  sickly  and  often 
afflicted  with  mortal  sickness.  Twenty  years  ago  she  had 
had  a  stroke  of  paralysis  and  had  become  lame  in  the 
right  side.  Since  October  20,  1763,  she  had  suffered 
from  a  violent  puncture  in  the  breast  and  other  maladies, 
and  had  been  bled  fourteen  times,  when  they  feared  she 
would  be  suffocated.  Many  times  she  had  been  near  to 
death,  and  had  twice  received  the  sacraments  of  the  dying. 
When  she  had  violent  cramps  and  a  severe  fit  of  vomiting, 
she  took  four  or  five  times  some  of  the  so-called  Crescentia 
powder  with  instant  relief.  On  December  22d,  in  the 
evening,  she  fainted  away,  after  which  she  fell  into  a 
state  in  which  all  believed  her  to  be  dying,  and  the 
father  confessor  said  the  prayers  of  the  dying  beside  her 
bed.  Soon  she  lost  consciousness  again.  In  this  state,  it 
appeared  to  her  as  if  the  picture  of  Crescentia,  which  she 
had  before  her,  became  alive,  and  said  to  her  that 
she  would  not  die  yet ;  it  was  not  God's  will,  and  she  (Cres- 
centia) would  not  permit  it ;  she  had  to  live  longer,  but  in 
suffering.  She  felt  a  strong  impulse  to  say  these  words 
aloud  before  all  who  were  present,  and  after  she  had  first 
asked  her  confessor  in  a  low  voice,  she  said  in  audible 
tones  :  "  Your  reverence  will  please  leave  off  your  suppli- 
cations ;  I  am  not  going  to  die;  I  cannot  die."  Then  she 
added  the  above-mentioned  words  and  some  others;  she 
then  raised  herself  in  bed  without  help,  wiped  the  death - 
sweat  from  her  face,  and  begged  the  father  confessor 
and  the  Mother  Superior,  who  was  also  present,  to  allow  her 
to  get  up,  which  permission  was  granted.  She  then  took 
some  nourishment,  said  the  Te  Deum  in  thanksgiving, 

1  We  are  Indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Father  Venantius  Herzog,  Guardian  of  the 
Capuchin  Convent  at  Eichstadt,  for  an  authentic  account  of  this  Investigation. 


Selection  of  Miracles.  345 

and  slept  calmly  all  night.  The  next  morning  she  arose 
without  any  help,  though  previously  she  had  not  been 
able  to  stand  alone  for  nine  weeks;  she  assisted  at  Mass, 
and  at  it  sang  in  a  firm  voice  the  solemn  hymn  of  St.  Am- 
brose, the  Te  Deum.  The  cure  was  perfect.  Besides 
ten  other  witnesses,  who  swore  to  the  truth  of  all  that  has 
been  said,  the  surgeon,  John  Michael  Hafner,  the  physi- 
cian, John  Starkman,  doctor  of  philosophy  and  medicine, 
who  had  attended  the  Sister  for  twenty-one  years  in  her 
many  sicknesses,  and  his  son,  Andrew  Joachim  Starkman, 
also  a  physician,  all  attest  that  this  sudden  cure  surpassed 
all  the  laws  of  nature. 

From  Father  Ott's  narrative  we  cull  some  miraculous 
events,  which  he  himself  examined.  Michael  Dollinger,  a 
day-laborer  at  the  castle  of  Hautzenstein,  had  had  a 
rupture  for  forty-two  years,  which,  in  spite  of  good  truss- 
es, had  brought  him  often  to  the  brink  of  the  grave,  from 
which  the  assistance  of  good  surgeons  had  barely  saved 
him.  In  the  year  1771,  his  bowels  again  protruded  so 
frightfully,  that  all  endeavors  to  help  him  proved  fruitless. 
The  lord  of  the  castle,  Privy-counsellor  Von  Franken, 
sent  the  dying  man  some  of  the  so-called  Crescentia 
oil,  and  bade  those  who  tended  him  excite  him  to  trust 
in  her  intercession.  As  soon  as  some  drops  of  oil  had 
been  applied,  the  pains  ceased,  the  bowels  returned  of 
themselves  to  their  proper  place,  the  rupture  was  healed  so 
thoroughly  that,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  in  a  few  days 
no  trace  of  the  old  malady  remained. 

Euphosiua  Hag,  the  daughter  of  Protestant  parents  of 
Kaufbeuren,  became,  in  the  third  or  fourth  year  of  her  life, 
totally  blind,  and  no  help  could  be  obtained  from  the  doc- 
tors. Maria  Acklsperger,  a  Catholic  servant  girl  of  the 
house,  made  a  novena  for  the  poor  child  to  Crescentia,  paid 
a  daily  visit  to  her  grave,  and  once  took  the  child  thither, 
and  moistened  her  eyes  with  some  drops  of  the  so-called 
Crescentia  water.  Early  on  the  tenth  day,  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  the  child  opened  her  eyes,  which  were  as 


346        T/ie  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

bright  and  beautiful  as  could  be  desired.  This  happened 
in  1766.  "  The  whole  city,"  says  Father  Ott,  "  knows  of 
the  fact :  no  one  disputes  its  truth,  though  some  one  will 
not  acknowledge  it  to  be  a  miracle."  The  child  retained 
good  eyes  till  its  seventh  year,  when  it  died  of  small-pox. 

Francis  Anthony  Pilgram,  a  merchant,  and  afterwards  a 
citizen  of  Munich,  from  the  electorate  of  Saxony,  in  1764, 
after  a  severe  sickness,  lay  at  the  point  of  death  ;  then  his 
wife  made  a  vow  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  grave  of  the 
servant  of  God.  At  the  very  moment  the  sick  man  raised 
himself  up,  returned  thanks  to  God,  and  with  those  pres- 
ent said  the  rosary.  For  many  years  afterwards  he  fre- 
quently went  to  the  grave  of  his  deliverer,  as  a  living  wit- 
ness to  this  miracle. 

Veronica  Stark,  of  Kaufbeuren,  in  1776  thrust  a  needle 
so  deeply  in  the  palm  of  her  hand  that  it  disappeared  alto- 
gether, and  the  surgeon,  Charles  Braun,  could  not  draw  it 
out.  A  plaster  had  no  other  effect  than  to  increase  the 
pains.  Veronica,  being  compelled  to  earn  her  living  by 
manual  labor,  and  chiefly  by  washing,  gave  up  medical 
help  and  invoked  the  aid  of  Crescentia,  promising  to  have 
the  needle  set  in  silver,  and  to  carry  it  to  her  grave  if  she 
should  be  healed  by  her  intercession.  The  pain  then  dis- 
appeared all  at  once,  she  could  do  her  usual  work  without 
any  difficulty,  although  by  close  inspection  the  needle 
could  be  noticed  in  her  hand.  Twenty-one  weeks  after- 
wards, she  felt,  when  wiping  her  hand,  that  it  stuck  to  the 
towel,  and  then,  to  her  great  surprise,  noticed  the  head  of 
the  needle,  which  had  penetrated  crossways  into  the  inter- 
ior of  the  palm,  stuck  out  on  the  upp  er  side  of  the  hand. 
She  now  pulled  it  out  with  great  ease. 

Anna  Heiber,  of  Landsberg,  in  1776  swallowed  a  needle, 
which  lodged  cross-ways  in  her  throat.  It  was  im- 
possible to  extract  it  ;  she  made  a  vow  to  Crescentia ;  a 
moment  afterwards  the  needle  jerked  itself  out  with  great 
force  from  her  mouth,  in  the  presence  of  many  people. 
We  may  here  remark  that  there  are  hundreds  of  in- 


Selection  of  Miracles.  347 

stances  reported  in  which  needles,  pins,  and  other  pointed 
objects,  which  had  been  swallowed  or  otherwise  inserted 
in  the  body,  have  been  drawn  forth  in  a  remarkable  manner 
at  the  invocation  of  Crescentia.  No  one  can  look  upon 
the  articles  brought  to  her  grave  within  this  present  cen- 
tury, without  a  shudder,  as  well  as  astonishment. 

Baron  Von  Kossi,  an  officer,  Commandant  of  Constance, 
fell  so  sick  with  an  inflammatory  fever,  in  1779,  that  he 
could  not  move  for  weakness  and  his  physicians  gave  up  all 
hope.  Finally,  he  had  recourse  to  the  servant  of  God,  and 
sent  a  priest  of  the  Order  of  St.  Dominic  to  Kaufbeuren, 
in  order  to  say  a  holy  Mass  at  her  grave  on  a  Thursday  be- 
tween nine  and  ten  o'clock,  at  which  time  Mass  was  also 
said  in  the  room  of  the  sick  officer,  and  at  it  he  received 
Holy  Communion.  Immediately  after  that  his  appetite  re- 
turned ;  his  weakness  vanished  so  suddenly  that  in  a  few 
days  he  could  entertain  guests  at  his  table,  and  soon  after 
made  in  person  a  pilgrimage  to  Crescentia's  grave.  He, 
himself,  as  also  his  doctor,  Dr.  Braunegger,  attributed  his 
cure  to  a  supernatural  cause. 

Father  Ott  relates  in  1753  :  "  When  I  was  visiting  my 
good  friend,  Rev.  Anthony  Galler,  parish  priest  in  Rotten- 
burg,  Bavaria,  he  complained  to  me  that  for  a  year  past 
he  had  had  no  rest.  As  soon  as  he  prepared  himself  for 
sleep  the  frightful  phantasm  of  a  black  dog  would  rush 
upon  him  and  rob  him  of  his  rest,  to  the  great  detriment 
of  his  health.  I  gave  him  one  of  Crescentia's  rosaries,  and 
exhorted  him  to  trust  in  her.  He  then  wound  the  beads 
every  evening  around  his  hand,  saying  a  short  prayer,  and 
never  again  experienced  an  attack  of  that  kind  of  annoy- 
ance. 

One  of  the  rosaries  distributed  by  Crescentia  herself  was 
for  upwards  of  two  hours  in  the  midst  of  the  flames  of  a  fire 
which  broke  out,  in  1744,  at  Kongetried,  near  Mindelheim. 
It  was  drawn  by  chance  out  of  the  fire  by  an  iron  fork,  and 
found  to  be  quite  whole  and  uninjured,  which  filled  many 
of  the  spectators  with  holy  awe.  These  beads  were  at  that 


348        T/te  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

time  very  often  used  in  cases  of  difficult  child-birth,  and 
many  hundreds  of  such  cases  occurred,  in  which  visible  help 
is  said  to  have  been  given,  even  in  very  desperate  circum- 
stances ;  as  soon  as  the  mother  had  swallowed  a  bead  of 
the  rosary,  the  birth  immediately  followed.  In  some  cases, 
it  was  even  reported  that  the  child  had  the  swallowed 
bead  in  its  hand,  which  is  naturally  impossible.  It  was 
particularly  at  Lucerne  that  such  instances  occurred  ;  nay,  _. 
at  that  time  it  was  said  there  that  for  eighteen  years,  when 
women  in  child-birth  recommended  themselves  to  Crescen- 
tia, only  one  unhappy  delivery  had  occurred,  and  that  was 
to  a  person  who  had  despised  the  invocation  to  Crescentia 
and  made  it  the  subject  of  mockery. 

That  the  Ven.  Crescentia  also  helps  those  who  venerate 
her  in  temporal  matters  of  less  importance,  is  manifest 
from  what  Father  Ott  tells  us  of  what  we  heard  in  the 
year  1770  from  the  mouth  of  Prince  Hohenzollern-Hech- 
ingen.  This  prince  had  a  noble  horse  of  great  price, 
which  took  sick  when  the  emperor's  troops  besieged 
Schweidnitz.  The  farrier's  treatment"  did  him  no  good  ; 
the  horse  was  dying;  they  had  already  taken  off  his  shoes  and 
left  him  lying  there  on  the  ground.  The  prince  was  very 
much  troubled  at  this  loss,  and  seeing  that  human  aid  availed 
nothing,  he  invoked  Crescentia,  for  whom  he  had  a  high 
veneration,  vowing  to  send  a  silver  horse  to  her  grave.  At 
the  self -same  moment  the  animal  sprang  to  his  feet,  ran  to 
the  stable,  as  sound  as  he  had  ever  been,  and  began  to  feed. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  chapter  we  will  recount  as 
briefly  as  possible  some  of  the  numerous  miracles  reported 
of  this  century,  as  they  are  kept  in  the  archives  of  the  con- 
vent. They  are  not,  however,  of  these  latest  years. 

Francis  Caspar  Versching,  of  Kissingen,  a  boy  of  thirteen 
years  of  age,  lost  his  senses  in  consequence  of  a  fright,  and 
remained  crazy  for  seven  years.  As  soon  as  his  mother  in- 
yoked  Crescentia  he  recovered  entirely. 

A  daughter  of  Michael  Shirmayer,  of  Giuzelhofen,  near 
Ftirstenfeldbruck,  was  sixteen  years  old  when  she  h;i<l  been 


Selection  of  Miracles.  349 

given  up  by  the  doctors ;  she  had  been  struggling  with 
death  for  two  years  ;  she  was  recommended  to  Crescentia 
and  in  a  few  days  was  perfectly  well. 

Anthony  Heymer,  of  Niederstolzingen,  was  for  a  whole 
year  totally  blind,  having  cataract  in  both  eyes.  An  opera- 
tion which  was  performed  was  a  failure,  and  for  another 
quarter  of  a  year  he  saw  nothing.  He  vowed  a  pilgrimage 
to  the  grave  of  Crescentia  and  in  the  following  night  recov- 
ered his  sight.  He  himself  bore  witness  to  this  cure,  at 
the  very  grave  of  Crescentia,  July  14, 1809. 

Mary  Ostertag,  of  Mering,  had  thrust  into  her  right  hand 
a  piece  of  a  broken  spindle,  which,  after  trying  every 
means  for  three  years,  she  could  not  get  out.  The  hand 
had  been  unfit  for  any  use  and  was  much  swollen.  She 
had  scarcely  made  the  vow  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage,  when, 
taking  off  the  bandage,  she  found  she  could  easily  remove 
the  fragment  of  the  spindle  without  other  help.  July  23, 
1809,  she  went  herself  to  Kaufbeuren,  and  took  the  point 
of  the  spindle  with  her. 

John  Loder,  of  Buch,  near  Fiirstenfeldbruck,  on  Good 
Friday  got  under  a  heavily-laden  wagon.  Several  ribs 
were  broken,  the  abdomen  seriously  injured.  A  physician 
and  a  surgeon  declared  he  could  not  be  saved  ;  after  nine 
hours,  his  death  was  expected  at  any  moment.  After  he 
had  recommended  himself  to  the  servant  of  God  by  a  vow, 
it  seemed  to  him,  as  he  himself  said,  "  as  if  the  bowels  had 
been  pushed  back  to  their  former  place."  In  five  days  he 
could  work  again  as  before. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1816,  James  SchSnl  of  Ipfldorf, 
brought  a  great  splinter  of  a  bone,  set  in  a  frame,  to  the 
grave  of  Crescentia.  After  he  had  suffered  for  five  and  a 
half  years  from  a  bad  sore  in  his  foot  that  impeded  him  in 
walking  and  could  not  be  healed,  he  vowed  he  would  make 
a  pilgrimage,  and  the  bone  came  out  at  once,  the  cure 
following  instantly. 

Maria  Crescentia  Buchenscheid,  of  Goppingen,  nearlllm, 
had,  in  1816,  her  tongue  so  frightfully  swollen  that  it  pro- 


35O       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

jected  from  her  mouth,  and  for  twenty-seven  days  the  poor 
girl  was  speechless.  No  remedy  was  effective.  Immediate- 
ly after  she  had  vowed  to  make  the  pilgrimage,  the  tongue 
went  back,  and  the  sick  girl  was  completely  cured. 

Anna  Kuhn,  of  Tarrenz,  in  Tyrol,  had,  in  1818,  been  so 
much  reduced  by  a  deadly  gall  and  putrid  fever,  that 
the  priest  who  stood  by  her  bed-side  expected  her  death 
every  minute.  A  few  drops  of  "  Crescentia  water,"  which 
her  sister  gave  to  her,  vowing,  at  the  same  time,  a  pilgrim- 
age to  Kaufbeuren,  effected  a  sudden  convalescence  and 
perfect  cure. 

Katherine  Strohmiller,  from  Donaualtheim,  seven  years 
old,  was  blind  of  both  eyes,  and  according  to  the  opinion 
of  the  physicians,  with  the  incurable  black  cataract.  She 
was  indebted  to  her  devotion  to  Crescentia  for  her  perfect 
cure,  as  she  herself  and  her  mother  declared  on  the  13th 
of  March,  1820. 

Kichard  Koller,  of  Ottobeuren,  was  wounded  in  the  bat- 
tle-field on  the  19th  of  March,  1813,  in  the  left  arm  and  side, 
by  grape-shot.  He  lay  there  in  his  blood,  without  any  band- 
age, from  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  until  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  next  day  the  bullet  was  cut  out  of  his  side,  but 
the  arm  remained  quite  crippled.  Dismissed  as  an  invalid, 
he  was  unable  to  work  until  he  had  recourse  to  Crescentia, 
when  in  three  days  he  was  perfectly  healed,  and  rendered 
capable  of  doing  any  kind  of  work,  as  he  himself  testifies 
on  the  24th  of  May,  1820. 

John  George  Stadler,  a  carpenter  from  Markback,  near 
Sulgau,  was  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption,  and  being 
given  up  by  the  physicians,  he  had  received  the  sacraments. 
Then  his  wife  exhorted  him  to  call  upon  Crescentia.  The 
cure  was  sudden  and  perfect.  It  is  dated  June  14,  1823. 

Similar  miraculous  cures  in  answer  to  prayer  occur  up  to 
this  very  hour,  and  in  these  last  years  especially,  are  again 
becoming  more  frequent.  According  to  the  testimony  of 
the  Sisters,  seldom  a  week  passes  without  at  least  one  such 
instance  occurring.  But  as  the  persons  who  claim  to  have 


Process  of  her  Beatification.  351 

received  these  graces  are  still  alive,  and  as  no  close,  no  ex- 
act investigation  has  been  made  by  the  spiritual  authori- 
ties, concerning  the  truth  of  the  facts  asserted,  we  think 
we  do  better  by  not  publishing  them. 

As  long  as  the  Church  itself  has  not  spoken  any  decis- 
ion concerning  these  presumable  miracles,  we  have  only  a 
human  certainty  in  their  regard,  and  consequently,  one 
subject  to  deception.  More  than  this  we  cannot  and  will 
not  claim  for  the  miracles  mentioned  above.  Nevertheless, 
the  number  of  these  remarkable  deeds  is  so  great,  and 
many  of  them  are  so  striking,  that  delusion  in  all  of  these 
cases  can  scarcely  be  assumed. 

Trust  then,  0  Christian  reader,  in  the  Venerable  Crescen- 
tia's  powerful  intercession.  The  Church  Triumphant  joins 
hands  with  the  Church  Militant,  and  to  the  Saints  in  Heaven 
the  words  of  the  Apostle  St.  James  can  be  truly  applied  : 
"  The  continual  prayer  of  a  just  man  availeth  much."  * 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Process  of  her  Beatification.— Opening  of  the  Grave. 

E  have  already  stated2  that  Benedict  XIV.  ad- 
vised the  Bishop  of  Augsburg,  in  a  brief  dated 
Oct.  1,  1745,  not  to  hurry  on  in  any  way  the  ex- 
aminations concerning  the  life  of  Crescentia,  the  servant  of 
God,  but  rather,  on  account  of  the  great  veneration  in 
which  she  was  held,  to  postpone  it  longer  than  might  other- 
wise seem  advisable.  This  brief  caused  the  widely  dis- 
seminated opinion  that  the  beatification  of  the  consecrated 
Virgin  had  no  prospect  of  success.  This  opinion  was  alto- 
gether unfounded.  Yet  the  advice  given  by  the  Pope  had 

1  James  v.  16.  *  B.  II.  C.  VI. 


352       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crcscentia. 

the  effect  of  inducing  the  Bishop  of  Augsburg  to  resist  the 
general  pressure  on  all  sides,  which  was  intended  to  acceler- 
ate the  beginning  of  the  process.  Various  opinions  of  dis- 
tinguished persons  had  no  effect  for  the  moment  ;  among 
these  was  one  very  favorable  to  the  cause,  that  of  Father 
Emmanuel  Azevedo,  an  experienced  counsellor  of  the  Con- 
gregation of  Rites,  given  on  May  llth,  1754,  which  deserves 
special  mention. 

At  length  the  Prince-bishop,  Clement  Weuceslaus, 
yielded  to  the  general  desire,  and  on  July  3d,  1775, 
appointed  a  commission  to  hear  witnesses  and  institute  the 
so-called  episcopal  investigation.  This  commission  con- 
sisted of  the  Baron  Yon  Ungelten,  Dean  of  the  Cathedral,  of 
Celestine  Nipp,  the  spiritual  adviser,  of  three  parish  priests 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Kaufbeuren,  and  of  the  Notary 
Apostolic,  John  Schwicker.  These  gentlemen  concluded 
their  investigations  in  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  sessions, 
on  the  12th  of  July,  1777.  Five  and  thirty  witnesses  had 
been  therein  examined.  The  Acts  were  forwarded  to  Rome 
with  a  petition  from  the  bishop  that  the  matter  of  the  Beati- 
fication might  be  taken  up,  and  the  apostolical  process  be  en- 
tered upon.  Father  Philibert  Obwexer,  of  the  Upper  Ger- 
man Franciscan  Province,  and  procurator  of  the  Germanic 
and  Belgic  Provinces  at  Rome,  was  the  Postulator  Causes  ; 
Adrian  Tisson  was  business  manager  for  the  convent  of 
Kaufbeuren.  They  succeeded  so  far  as  to  induce  the  Pope 
to  appoint  a  commission  in  1785  to  begin  the  "  Apos- 
( tolic  Process,"  which  means  to  investigate  the  matter  anew, 
and  to  examine  the  witnesses. 

The  Papal  Commissaries  were  :  Von  Ungelten,  the  Co- 
adjutor-bishop of  Augsburg,  the  spiritual  counsellor  Nipp, 
with  six  abbots,  namely:  Joseph  Maria,  of  St.  Ulrich 
and  Afra,  in  Augsburg,  Honoratus,  of  Ottobeuren, 
Michael,  of  Thierhaupten,  ^Emilianus,  of  Fiissen,  Josephus, 
of  Wessobrun,  Honoratus,  of  Irsen. 

The  sessions  began  on  July  30th,  1785,  at  Kaufbeuren;  the 
last,  which  was  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-ninth,  was  held 


Process  of  her  Beatification.  353 

on  July  20th,  1790,  in  Ottobeuren  ;  the  Acts  contained  the 
evidence  of  thirty-seven  witnesses.  On  August  21st,  1793, 
both  processes  were  declared  valid  by  the  Congrega- 
tion of  Kites.  But  before  the  Apostolic  See  had  come  to 
the  resolution  of  taking  up  the  Causa,  and  had  appointed 
the  papal  commission  to  investigate  the  matter,  lengthy 
proceedings  had  taken  place  in  reference  to  various  difficul- 
ties. 

The  Promoter  fid&i  relied  principally  on  the  T3rief  of 
Benedict  XIV.,  which  had  expressed  a  suspicion  that  the 
servant  of  God  had  designed  and  disseminated  a  picture  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  form  of  a  young  man,  as  also  that 
she  had  distributed  beads  purporting  to  have  been  blessed 
and  indulgenced  by  Christ  Himself.  This  affair  could  not 
be  decided  in  the  May  session  of  1782  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
Coadjutor-bishop  of  Augsburg  was  charged  to  institute  a 
special  investigation  on  these  points  and  some  others,  which 
was  done  with  extreme  accuracy  in  May  of  the  following 
year. 

The  question  respecting  her  reputation  for  sanctity 
(super  fama  sanctitatis  in  genere)  was  favorably  decided 
in  1787.  Then  began  the  important  and  difficult  investi- 
gation respecting  the  heroic  greatness  of  her  virtues,  that 
is,  of  the  three  theological  and  seven  cardinal  virtues.  This 
took  a  rapid  course.  On  the  3d  of  August,  1801,  Pope  Pius 
VII.  announced  the  decision  that  it  is  ascertained  for 
certain  that  the  Ven.  Servant  of  God,  Sister  Mary  Crescen- 
tia  Hoss,  possessed  and  exercised  in  a  truly  heroic  degree 
the  theological  virtues,  and  the  moral  virtues  which  are 
bound  up  in  them. 

In  consequence  of  the  great  resolutions  of  the  following 
years  and  from  other  causes,  the  continuation  of  the  Beati- 
fication has  been  interrupted  for  seventy  years  ;  it  has  now, 
however,  been  again  set  in  agitation.  The  next  point  will 
be  to  prove  two  miracles  wrought  after  her  death  by  her 
intercession.  It  would  scarcely  be  believed,  save  by  one 
who  has  followed  up  these  investigations,  with  that  scrup- 


354       The  Life  of  Ven.  Mary  Crescentia. 

ulous  strictness  and  prudence  the  Holy  See  conducts  exam- 
inations. Two  facts  are  necessary  to  substantiate  the  evi- 
dence; the  sickly  state  of  the  patient  before  the  cure,  and 
the  cure  that  followed  ;  and  these  must  be  sworn  to  by 
three  witnesses.  The  fact  that  only  this  saint  and  no  oth- 
er was  invoked,  and  that  no  other  means  were  used,  must 
also  be  established,  though  on  these  points  few  witnesses 
are  necessary.  In  order  to  prove  these  three  points,  so 
many  questions  must  be  solved,  that  even  an  obvious  mira- 
cle could  scarcely  stand  the  fire  of  the  cross-examination, 
if  the  evidence  concerning  it  has  not  been  very  carefully 
made  out. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  1788,  the  grave  of  Crescentia  was 
opened  and  examined  in  the  presence  of  the  members 
of  the  Papal  Commission,  with  the  addition  of  the 
Father  Provincial,  Meinrad  Koning,  and  several  Sisters 
and  physicians.  But  as  all  these  had  promised  under  oath 
not  to  reveal  anything  that  they  had  seen,  we  do  not 
know  in  what  state  they  found  the  body  of  the  servant  of 
God,  nor  what  state  it  is  in  now. 

In  taking  leave  of  the  exalted  figure  of  this  angelic  vir- 
gin, which  has  become  endeared  to  us  by  this  our  work,  as 
also  of  our  reader,  we  would  address  a  petition  to  the  lat- 
ter to  do  all  he  possibly  can  to  promote  the  happy  comple- 
tion of  the  Beatification  of  this  spotless  Spouse  of  Christ, 
if  it  be  only  to  recommend  the  matter  to  God. 

But  to  thee,  0  favored  virgin,  in  purity  a  lily,  in  humili- 
ty a  violet,  in  Love  a  brilliant  rose  !  to  thee  I  dedicate  these 
imperfect  pages,  with  the  prayer  that  amid  the  storms  of 
the  age,  thou  wouldst  protect  by  thine  intercession  the  re- 
ligious state,  and  enlighten  it  with  the  shining  example 
of  thy  virtues.  And  if  this  poor  and  trifling  work  of  mine 
does  not  displease  thee,  then  keep  thy  protecting  hand  over 
me  in  life,  and  in  death  lay  it  on  my  head,  and  teach  me, 
after  thy  example,  to  verify  the  word  of  Holy  Writ:  "  You 
are  dead  and  your  life  is  hidden  with  Christ  in  God." ' 

1  Col.  ill.  3. 


APPENDIX. 


DECBETUM  AUGUSTAN AE 

In  matters  referring  to  the  Beatification  and  Canonization  of  the 
Venerable  Servant  of  God, 

SISTES  MARY  CRESCENTIA  Hoss, 

Professed  Sister  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis  in  the  convent 
of  Kaufbeuren. 

On  the  Question  : 

Whether  in  the  case  before  us,  and  for  the  specified  pur- 
pose, the  heroic  degree  of  the  theological  virtues,  as  faith  t 
hope,  and  love  for  God  and  one's  neighbor,  together  with 
the  moral  ones,  prudence,  justice,  fortitude,  and  temper- 
ance, and  the  virtues  in  connection  with  these,  is  firmly  es- 
tablished. 

The  purity  of  the  Catholic  Faith,  which  in  union  with 
all  other  Christian  virtues,  shone  so  brilliantly  throughout 
the  life  of  Mary  Crescentia  Hoss,  from  her  tenderest  age  to 
the  last  breath  of  her  life,  excited  the  admiration  not  only  of 
her  Catholic  fellow-citizens,  but  also  that  of  Protestants,  to 
that  degree  that  many  among  them  conferred  on  her  the 
greatest  encomiums,  and  did  all  they  could  to  obtain  for 
her,  in  spite  of  her  poor  circumstances,  official  admission 
into  the  convent  of  the  Third  Order  of  St.  Francis,  as  the 
surest  safe-guard  for  her  innocence. 

As  in  consequence  of  her  great  reputation  for  sanctity, 
which  she  already  enjoyed  during  her  life,  but  which  since 
her  death  has  constantly  increased  and  been  farther  and 
more  widely  spread,  two  investigations  were  set  on  foot, 


356  Appendix. 

concerning  the  manner  of  her  whole  life.  The  first  one, 
after  the  lapse  of  considerable  time,  with  a  view  to  try  the 
constancy  of  her  renown,  was  instituted  by  the  Bishop  of 
Augsburg  ;  the  second,  much  more  searching,  was  made  in 
obedience  to  the  mandate  of  the  Apostolic  See  itself. 

Among  other  things  we  have  the  pleasure  to  an- 
nounce, that  among  the  judges  selected  were  four  abbots  of 
the  Order  of  St.  Benedict,  an  event  not  of  common  occur- 
rence, which  sustained  the  joyful  hope  already  cherished 
that  the  work  begun  by  them  would  be  completed  by  the 
Sovereign  Hierarch,  who  was  himself  a  member  of  that  an- 
cient and  venerable  Order. 

So  in  fact  it  came  to  pass  :  The  particulars  of  the  in- 
vestigation concerning  her  brilliant  virtues  had  been 
handed  in  to  the  Sacred  Congregation  of  Rites,  when  this 
Congregation  had,  May  9,  1797,  held  their  first  sessions  in 
the  palace  of  the  late  Cardinal  Archinto,  who  was  then  the 
notary  of  the  process.  Their  sessions  were  continued  on 
March  3d  of  this  current  year  in  the  apostolic  palace  of 
the  Quirinal,  and  were  finally  concluded  on  July  28th, 
in  the  same  Quirinal.  In  a  general  assembly,  in  which  his 
Holiness  Pope  Pius  VII.  presided,  it  was  the  unanimous 
judgment  of  the  Venerable  Cardinals  and  of  all  the  judges 
there  assembled,  that  the  Ven.  Crescentia  had  practised 
these  Christian  virtues  in  an  heroic  degree. 

But  his  Holiness,  who  at  that  time  refrained  from  giving 
a  decision,  in  order,  in  so  important  a  matter  to  seek  coun- 
sel in  prayer,  that  he  might  know  God's  will,  selected  a 
day  venerated  by  the  whole  Franciscan  family,  as  one  on 
which  the  dedication  of  their  first  Church  is  annually  com- 
memorated, on  which  to  honor  this  prudent  virgin  and 
daughter  of  the  holy  Patriarch,  St.  Francis,  with  the  glori- 
ous name  of  a  Heroine  of  Christian  virtue.  Therefore, 
after  having  celebrated  the  divine  mysteries  with  great 
devotion  in  his  domestic  chapel,  he  summoned  the  Rev. 
Cardinal-vicar  of  Somalia,  Prefect  of  the  Congregation  of 
Rites  and  also,  during  the  process,  its  notary,  together  with 


Appendix.  357 

the  Pro-motor  Fidei,  Father  Jerome  Napulioni,  and  the 
undersigned  secretary,  to  appear  before  him,  and  then  he 
solemnly  pronounced  the  following  judgment :  "  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  Venerable  Servant  of  God,  Sister  Mary  Cres- 
centia  Hoss,  possessed  and  practised  in  a  truly  heroic  degree 
the  theological  and  moral  virtues  and  those  connected  with 
them." 

At  the  same  time  he  ordered  the  publication  of  this  de- 
cision and  its  insertion  in  the  Acts  of  the  Congregation  of 
Bites,  on  the  second  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1801. 
J.  M.,  CARDINAL  OF  SOMALIA, 

Prefect  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites. 
J.,  OF  CARPINGEIT, 

Secretary  of  the  Congregation  of  Rites. 


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